CHENNAI: Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate might join the support staff of newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir during India’s white ball tour to Sri Lanka, starting from July 27.
While none of it is officially confirmed, things might get clear when Gambhir addresses the media on Monday in Mumbai before leaving with the team for the Island nation. Nayar, who has played three ODIs for India, and Doeschate, who was a hard-hitting all-rounder for the Netherlands, have worked closely with Gambhir at the Kolkata Knight Riders and are likely to come in as assistant coaches, according to reports.
Nayar comes with a high reputation as a sharp cricket mind and a lifestyle/motivational coach who have worked with the likes of Dinesh Karthik and Rinku Singh.
Doeschate is currently working with LA Knight Riders in the ongoing Major League Cricket (MLC) and Gambhir has openly expressed his admiration for the team-first attitude of the Dutchman. While there was no clear view on the appointment of the bowling coach, it seems that T Dilip, who was part of Rahul Dravid’s regime, will continue in the role of the fielding coach.
Gambhir had suggested to the BCCI the names of former India seamers R Vinay Kumar and L Balaji and former South African pacer Morne Morkel for the role of bowling coach. However, the board is yet to invite applications for the job and one will have to wait and see who gets the role. For time being, someone from the National Cricket Academy could travel to Sri Lanka with the team.
In his first press conference as India head coach, Gambhir will have to answer queries not just about his support staff but also about the appointment of Suryakumar Yadav as T20I captain over Hardik Pandya who was the vice-captain in the World Cup. Even for the SL tour, Shubman Gill has been named Surya’s deputy while Pandya is featured as a player. For the ODIs, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are back in the fold and will take part in the three-match series.
The Indian team is scheduled to travel to Colombo from Mumbai in a chartered flight on July 22. Nayar and Dilip could also be travelling with the team while it’s not yet clear when Doeschate would link up.