Team India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has confirmed the appointment of Ryan ten Doeschate and Abhishek Nayar as his assistant coaches as well. However, Gambhir’s first assignment as coach will be the three-match T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka as well. Gambhir has already worked with both at the Kolkata Knight Riders when he was the mentor, and they tasted success recently, winning the IPL 2024 title.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the team’s departure to Sri Lanka on Monday, July 22, Gautam Gambhir said: “This is the crux of the coaching staff. But we have a lot of time. We will have time after the Sri Lanka series. I have had some really good feedback from the players. I hope Abhishek and Ryan have a successful stint as coaches.”

However, Gautam Gambhir also opened up on the role of star players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in future. With Rohit and Kohli both having retired from T20Is after winning the T20 World Cup, Gambhir added that the duo should be available for most of the games.

“With now Rohit and Virat not playing T20I cricket, they only have two formats to look after. I am sure they are going to be available for most of the games. Yes, for Jasprit Bumrah (workload management), he is one rare kind of a bowler. It’s our responsibility to try and have him fresh for major games. Not just for Bumrah, but for most of the fast bowlers, workload management becomes really important,” Gautam Gambhir concluded.