Nayar, ten Doeschate to join Indian team for Lanka tour: report

New Delhi: In Gautam Gambhir’s first assignment as new India head coach through the upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka, Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate are set to link up with him, while T Dilip will continue to be the fielding coach of the side.

According to a report in Cricbuzz, Nayar, who played three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) for India, and ten Doeschate have been appointed as assistant coaches in the Indian team. The two were with Gambhir, then serving a mentorship role, in the Kolkata Knight Riders coaching staff when the side won IPL 2024.

In his time with KKR since 2018, where he was the coach-cum-academy head, Nayar has been credited for guiding various players like Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy and Venkatesh Iyer through his coaching methods, as well as for the resurgence of Dinesh Karthik.

Regarding Dilip, the report said he retains his place as he has carved a reputation of not only as an effective fielding coach but also a good positive influence in the dressing room. “He is believed to be very good at team bonding exercises, considered a major requirement for players in a highly-competitive environment,” added the report.

With Dilip and Nayar set to travel with the Indian team to Sri Lanka on a charter flight from Mumbai on Monday afternoon, it is unclear about ten Doeschate’s travel plans. The former Netherlands cricketer is currently in the USA as part of the coaching staff for the LA Knight Riders in the ongoing Major League Cricket (MLC) and may directly join the Indian team in Sri Lanka.

The report further said there is some suspense over who is the new bowling coach, but Morne Morkel remains to be a strong candidate. Morkel worked with Gambhir at Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022 and 2023, where the latter was a mentor. Before Indian team’s departure for Sri Lanka, a press conference is planned for Mondau in Mumbai, with Gambhir and T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav to be in attendance.