3 ex-players who could become India’s assistant coach following Ryan ten Doeschate's resignation
Ryan ten Doeschate reportedly has stepped down as India’s assistant coach.
Ryan ten Doeschate, as per the reports in ESPNCricinfo, stepped down from the position of Indian Cricket Team‘s assistant coach. He had joined the backroom coaching staff along with Gautam Gambhir in 2024.
Ryan is reported to have reunited with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was hand-picked by the current Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir. Ryan and Gambhir shared space in the KKR think-tank in 2024, where the team also won the trophy that season.
Being the assistant coach, Ryan had substantial say in the batting and fielding departments, alongside Sitanshu Kotak and T Dilip. Under his tenure, India emerged victorious in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Asia Cup 2025, and the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
After a decorated stint in blue, he has hung his boots as the coach, and stepped down from the position. The England tour was his last assignment. Cricinfo reported about this move on July 28.
India are set to tour Sri Lanka in mid-August for a two-match Test series. There are speculations regarding who will fill the position of Ryan in the coaching staff. There are some ex-cricketers who could be in contention for the same. On that note, let’s look at three possible candidates for the role.
3 former-cricketers who could replace Ryan as the Assistant coach
3. Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh is a World Cup 2011 and World T20 2007 winner. The right-arm off-break bowler claimed 417 wickets in 103 Tests and 269 wickets in ODIs. He steered India’s spin-bowling from 1998 to 2015.
The ‘Turbanotar‘ as many called him, ran through batting line-ups and also provided explosive batting lower down the order. He debuted for India at a time when Anil Kumble, the spin maestro, dominated the department.
There are chances of Harbhajan taking up the role, as he was also seen at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in March 2026. He conducted a specialist camp for emerging off-spinners to sharpen their skills and share insights with youngsters. The camp had players like Saransh Jain, Tanush Kotian, and Himanshu Singh, among others.
2. Zaheer Khan
The left-arm speedster was from the same batch as Harbhajan Singh, and was instrumental in India’s 2011 World Cup victory. He claimed 21 scalps in 9 matches, with an average of 18.7 and a stunning economy under 5. He was the joint-highest wicket-taker in the tournament.
Zaheer Khan has a notable coaching career. He was associated with the Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise from 2018-22, serving as the Director of Cricket from 2018-21. In 2022, he was MI’s Global Head of Cricket Development.
He joined Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in 2024 and served as a Team mentor to the franchise for two years. He oversaw team scouting, strategy and also contributed with bowling inputs.
In March 2026, Zaheer had also conducted a specialised red-ball training camp at the BCCI CoE for pacers from India A and U-19 high performing groups. The camp focused on red-ball bowling action, control, variations and aimed at strengthening India’s fast-bowling depth for red-ball assignments.
1. Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh was the Player of the Tournament in the World Cup 2011. He is one of India’s highly regarded ODI all-rounders and has coached many youngsters, especially from Punjab, for the international stage. India’s current Test and ODI captain, Shubman Gill was under the mentorship of Yuvraj Singh.
Moreover, shades of Yuvraj are seen in Abhishek Sharma, given his left-handed batting and left-arm spin. Priyansh Arya and Rishabh Pant are also reported to have taken his guidance and help.
Yuvraj has 8701 runs in 278 ODI innings, and 1900 Test runs. He has 111 wickets in ODIs with an economy of 5.1.
According to reports, he will be joining Delhi Capitals as a Batting coach from IPL 2027, however, there are no official announcements yet.
Who is the head coach of Indian Men’s team?
Gautam Gambhir is the head coach of Indian Men’s team.
For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.
Cricket runs in the blood of Indians — and that’s something she truly believes in. A law student with a lifelong connection to the game, she has followed cricket passionately since his school days. Like countless young fans, she first experienced the sport on the field before deepening his understanding through constant watching, reading, and conversations around the game. Writing became a natural extension of that passion, bringing a “Pavilion Perspective” to his work — capturing how fans experience matches through their own lens.