Former India batsman Hemang Badani, who is also the head coach of IPL team Delhi Capitals, has been appointed as the head coach of Hundred franchise Southern Brave ahead of the upcoming season.
As DC’s owners, GMR acquired a 49% stake in Southern Brave, the appointment was made quickly. Former England batsman Ian Bell is set to serve as his assistant for the upcoming season of The Hundred. The Hundred franchise Southern Brave made the appointments official through a social media post on Instagram. Badani’s appointment can be very useful for the team, as the former cricketer has a lot of coaching experience.
Under the guidance of Hemand Badani, Delhi Capitals had a great campaign in IPL 2025.
Under his guidance, Delhi Capitals had a promising campaign in the last season of the Indian Premier League. Delhi Capitals started their campaign with good momentum, but dropped a few points in the closing stages of the group stage and lost a spot in the play-offs.
Delhi Capitals finished fifth in IPL 2025th Points table team. In the last 5 matches, they managed only one win, three losses and one match was abandoned. In 14 matches, the team scored 15 points, one point less than Mumbai Indians, who finished fourth with 16 points.
Brief introduction of Hemang Badani
Apart from leading Delhi Capitals, the 49-year-old has also been involved in some coaching capacity with other GMR-owned teams – MLC (Seattle Orcas) and ILT20 (Dubai Capitals).
As an active cricketer, the Tamil Nadu-born player played 4 Tests and 40 ODIs for Team India. He has four half-centuries and one century to his name in the 50-over format.
The addition of Ian Bell will help Southern Brave manage local talent, as the former England batsman is well-versed with English cricket. Along with Bell, the franchise would like to unearth more talent from Root.
Badani and Bale have a tough task to complete
Like Badani, Ian Bell also experienced several coaching jobs with different teams. He has previously worked with the England U19 and Lions teams. He also served as the batting coach of the Sri Lankan Test team on their tour of England in 2024, and briefly worked with the New Zealand men’s team during their tour of England ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup. In The Hundred, Ian Bell also served as assistant coach to the Birmingham Phoenix.
Southern Brave claimed the league title in the inaugural season of The Hundred in 2021. In 2024, he was the runner-up. However, their performance last season was disappointing, losing half their matches and failing to qualify for the knockouts. The main aim of the duo of Badani and Bell will be to revive the team’s performance and take it back to glory.
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