India national cricket team’s assistant coach, Ryan ten Doeschate, has resigned from the role after the England series and will rejoin his former franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a coaching role in the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL). He resigned from the post after India’s disappointing performance in the white-ball tour of England.
As per Cricinfo report, the former Dutch international has informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about his exit in the UK, where India lost both the T20 and ODI series by 0-4 and 1-2 respectively. He is expected to join KKR in a new role; However, it will be interesting to see what coaching role he joins his former franchise in.
Ryan ten Doeschate ready for KKR comeback?
When current head coach Gautam Gambhir began his tenure as the head coach of the Men in Blue after Rahul Dravid left the team, Ryan ten Doeschate joined the Men in Blue team as an assistant coach. He had dual roles in the team, handling both the batting and fielding departments of the team.
The former Dutch skipper could link up with former India batting coach Abhishek Nair, who currently serves as the Knights head coach, as the two have worked together for a while for the Men in Blue and before that, worked as assistant coaches at KKR under Gautam Gambhir in 2024.
Why did Ryan ten Doeschate leave the role of India’s assistant coach?
It was also previously reported that Ryan ten Doeschate wanted to leave his role with the India national cricket team due to his family; The Indian cricket team travels across continents throughout the year, giving the former cricketer a chance to spend limited time with his family.
His wife is also an active professional living in London, as they have three children and because of this, Ryan wanted to spend more time with his family and also wanted a role that involved less travel. Thus, the KKR role is a perfect fit for him and his family, as the IPL lasts for more than just a few months.
Ryan ten Doeschate’s career as an assistant coach
Ryan ten Doeschate has a beautiful association with KKR as he won two IPL titles (2012 and 2014) at KKR as a player and then returned to the Knights family as a fielding coach in 2022. He worked under Brendon McCullum as head coach.
Subsequently, when Gambhir joined the franchise as a mentor in 2024, he worked with them and led them to their third IPL trophy in the same year. After that, as soon as Gambhir joined the Men in Blue team, he was also brought into the coaching staff along with Gauti.
While Ryan was the assistant coach of the Men in Blue, they won the 2025 Asia Cup, 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, and also defended the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2026. However, in Tests, their results on home soil were poor, and they lost 0–3 and 0–2 to New Zealand and South Africa respectively.
