Abhishek Nayar, a former all-rounder for India, and Ryan ten Doeschate, a former all-rounder for the Netherlands, will be joining the Indian support staff as assistant coaches for the next white-ball tour of Sri Lanka. The two will work with newly hired India head coach Gautam Gambhir again, since they were his assistant coaches during the IPL 2024 championship run of Kolkata Knight Riders.
Morne Morkel, a former fast bowler for South Africa, has received an offer to take over as India’s next bowling coach. Morkel has collaborated with Gambhir while he was the global mentor for the SA20’s Lucknow Super Giants and Durban’s Super Giants.
Although Vinay Kumar, a former seamer for both Karnataka and India, has also been shortlisted, it is believed that Morkel is the front-runner for the bowling coach position.
The first task for the new coaching team will be a white-ball trip of Sri Lanka, which starts on July 27 and consists of three ODIs and three T20Is.
Nayar, 40, had a first-class career spanning over 100 matches in which he played three Twenty20 Internationals for India and won four Ranji Trophy titles with Mumbai. Nayar guided Dinesh Karthik and assisted him in making an international return even when he was a player. More recently, following KKR’s first IPL championship in 10 seasons, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy showered Nayar with admiration. Nayar has also served as the Caribbean Premier League’s (CPL) head coach of the Trinbago Knight Riders.
Regarding ten Doeschate, he is presently an assistant to head coach Phil Simmons with the Los Angeles Knight Riders in Major League Cricket in the United States. He also carries with him his background as a Kent University hitting coach.
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