Former Indian all-rounder Abhishek Nayar and former Dutch international Ryan Ten Doeschate are most likely to join the Indian side in their upcoming limited-overs tour to Sri Lanka. Although there has been no official announcement, reports suggest that Gautam Gambhir’s companions from the Kolkata Knight Riders are all set to assist him in the Indian colors.
T Dilip, the fielding coach of the Indian setup is going to be retained from the previous staff. Dilip has not only built a reputation as an effective fielding coach but is also said to have a very positive impact in the dressing room. He is believed to be very good at team bonding exercises and is being considered a major requirement for players in a highly competitive environment.
Both Nayar and Ten Doeschate will be appointed as the assistant coaches, while there is no clarity over the bowling coach role. Morne Morkel has emerged as a strong candidate to potentially fill that vacancy in Gautam Gambhir’s coaching team.
All the new additions to the coaching team – Nayar, Ten Doeschate, and Morkel – have previously worked with Gambhir at various stages of his coaching career in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Nayar and ten Doeschate were with him during his successful tenure at Kolkata Knight Riders last season, while Morkel worked with Gambhir at Lucknow Super Giants for two years.
The Indian team is scheduled to depart for Sri Lanka on Monday afternoon from Mumbai. A press conference is planned before their departure in Mumbai which will consist of India’s newly appointed T20I captain Surya Kumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir. T Dilip and Nayar will travel along with the team on Monday, while Ten Doeschate is likely to join the side in Colombo later.
