Gautam Gambhir makes surprising selection choice to coaching staff: Report

As reported by Cricbuzz, Team India's new head coach, Gautam Gambhir, wants Ryan ten Doeschate to join India's backroom staff. The former Dutch all-rounder has worked with Gautam Gambhir as the Kolkata Knight Riders' fielding coach during their championship-winning campaign in IPL 2024. Ten Doeschate also serves in support roles for KKR's franchises in the ILT20, Major League Cricket, and Caribbean Premier League. Meanwhile, former India all-rounder Abhishek Nayar will likely take over as an assistant coach for the Indian squad, a role that Gambhir has earlier backed and hopes to get ten Doeschate for.

Considering the BCCI has been known to prefer Indian coaches, it will be fascinating to see how they address Gambhir's demand for full control over managing the team. However, it is very obvious that having two assistant coaches for a national team might not be favoured by the BCCI. They might select ten Doeschate as the assistant coach and Nayar as the batting coach.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that T. Dilip will probably continue to be retained as the fielding coach, who already had a great stint with outgoing head coach Rahul Dravid. In addition to this, regarding the bowling coach position, there are currently rumours circulating about Lakshmipathy Balaji and Vinay Kumar. However, it has been reported that the BCCI is looking for a more well-known player who could mentor and mould the next wave of fast bowlers.

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The greatest team man I ever played with, the most selfless human being: Gautam Gambhir

In the same vein, Gautam Gambhir has opened up about Ryan Ten's behaviour on the field, which played a big role in the IPL 2011 and ODI World Cup 2023, which Team India won under the leadership of legendary cricketer MS Dhoni. The former left-handed batter reveals that Ryan is the most selfless player and the greatest team man he has ever met in his full career.

"I can tell you this because in 2011, my first game as a KKR captain, we only had four overseas (players) available. And this man had a fabulous 50-over World Cup. And we went in that game with only three overseas players. He was carrying drinks in that game with no disappointment on his face. He taught me selflessness. Ryan ten Doeschate (sic). When I talk about selflessness, I have never said this in 42 years of my career. And I wanted to say this. The greatest team man I ever played with, the most selfless human being," Gambhir said.

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