Gautam Gambhir's India support staff set for overhaul as Ryan ten Doeschate, Morne Morkel weigh futures after England series
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Gautam Gambhir's India support staff set for overhaul as Ryan ten Doeschate, Morne Morkel weigh futures after England series originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Ryan ten Doeschate and Morne Morkel are reportedly weighing exits when their India coaching contracts expire.
- Fielding coach T. Dilip is under pressure amid India's deteriorating fielding standards.
- Both coaches were handpicked by Gautam Gambhir when he took charge in 2024.
Gautam Gambhir's India support staff set for overhaul after England series
India's white-ball tour of the UK has already stripped the world champions of their No. 1 T20I ranking and handed them a first whitewash in a series of that length. The fallout, it now appears, will not stop at the playing XI.
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According to a report in The Times of India, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate and fast bowling coach Morne Morkel are contemplating moving on from their roles once their contracts expire at the conclusion of the ODI series in England this month.
Both men were handpicked by Gautam Gambhir when he took charge of the Indian setup in July 2024, making their potential departures a significant unraveling of the head coach's inner circle barely two years into his tenure.
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Ryan Doeschate and Morne Morkel weigh their options
A BCCI source outlined the situation to TOI, indicating the board is scrambling to resolve matters before India's next assignment. "Doeschate isn't very sure of continuing with this job. He has conveyed his problems with traveling with the team throughout the year," the source said. The same source suggested Morkel's position remains less certain but equally unsettled.
"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," they told TOI. Ten Doeschate is reportedly in talks with an IPL franchise, while Morkel has not committed either way firmly. The timing is awkward, with India due to leave for a two-Test series in Sri Lanka during the first week of August.
Should the board fail to resolve the impasse, TOI reports the BCCI may be forced to send Lakshmipathy Balaji, recently appointed fast bowling coach at the Centre of Excellence, to Sri Lanka. VVS Laxman will already take his CoE staff to Zimbabwe for the three-match T20I series in late July.
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Fielding coach also under pressure
Ten Doeschate and Morkel are not the only members of the support staff facing an uncertain future. TOI has also reported that fielding coach T Dilip is under pressure to save his job, with the board unhappy about deteriorating fielding standards.
That criticism landed with force in Southampton, where India dropped multiple regulation catches, reprieving Jos Buttler once and Harry Brook twice, on 3 and again on 90. Buttler went on to make 131, and Brook finished unbeaten on 95.
Dilip survived a similar squeeze last year, having been sacked alongside batting coach Abhishek Nayar before being granted a reprieve. Nayar was subsequently replaced by Sitanshu Kotak, a move consistent with the BCCI's preference for staff who emerge through its own CoE coaching program.
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A reckoning that goes beyond results
The pattern here is difficult to ignore. Gambhir's handpicked appointments are drifting away; his fielding coach is under scrutiny for the second time in two years, and the BCCI is quietly steering the support structure back towards its Center of Excellence pipeline.
Ten Doeschate's stated reason, the toll of near-constant travel, is entirely legitimate and speaks to a schedule that grinds down staff as much as players. But departures rarely arrive in isolation, and losing two lieutenants immediately after a whitewash invites obvious conclusions. The greater danger for Gambhir is the message it sends.
A head coach whose team has lost six straight T20Is, surrendered its ranking, and now faces the loss of his own appointments is running short of both allies and excuses.
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