The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is in a spot of bother. Apart from worrying about the India men’s cricket team losing 0-2 to Ireland and 0-4 to England in back-to-back T20I series, the BCCI might need to go job hunting as well.
India’s assistant coach to leave?
The two remaining members of Gautam Gambhir’s support staff – assistant coaches Ryan ten Doeschate and Morne Morkel – are contemplating quitting after the India vs England ODI series ends on July 19. The duo’s contract will end after the United Kingdom tour concludes, and they aren’t very willing to renew it.
Ryan, a former Netherlands cricketer, had been working with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) before joining Team India. It’s believed that he’s in talks with an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise. As for Morkel, he hasn’t made up his mind entirely, but travelling all year round has been taxing on him.
“Doeschate isn’t very sure of continuing with this job. He has conveyed his problems with travelling with the team throughout the year. Morkel is still weighing his options. The board is discussing the matter with the two coaches and will try to see if things can be sorted out,” a BCCI source told the Times of India.
For the unversed, Morkel and Ryan were handpicked by India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir when he took charge in July 2024. The former had worked with Gambhir at the Lucknow Super Giants, while the latter had worked at KKR. The BCCI wasn’t pleased with employing coaches outside of the Centre of Excellence (CoE) scope, but they went along.
Balaji to replace Morne Morkel?
VVS Laxman, head of the CoE, will travel with Team India for their next assignment, which is the 3-match T20I series against Zimbabwe from July 23 to 26. So, there’s no issue there. But if Morkel and Ryan both decide to part ways, the BCCI will be forced to look for their replacements for the 2-match Sri Lanka Test series, for which India will leave in early August.
In January 2025, Abhishek Nayar left as one of three assistant coaches, and Sitanshu Kotak replaced him as the batting coach. Now, the BCCI might look for someone like Lakshmipathy Balaji as Morkel’s replacement, who was recently appointed as the fast-bowling coach at the CoE.
There might not be an immediate replacement for Ryan, whose job description hasn’t been clear. Although he was a batter during his career, it’s believed that he’s helped Indian cricketers as a mental coach and even done fielding drills when T. Dilip, who’s also expected to leave, wasn’t present as the fielding coach.
