New Delhi, July 29: Former assistant coach of the Indian cricket team, Ryan Ten Doeschate, has been entrusted with a significant responsibility by Knight Riders Sports. The former Netherlands batting star has been appointed as the ‘Head of Cricket Strategy’ for the franchise. With this new role, Ten Doeschate re-enters the Knight Riders family. He will now focus on scouting players, strategizing team preparations, and planning for the future across the franchise’s various teams.
Ten Doeschate’s new responsibilities are crucial. He will develop strategies for player scouting, team selection, squad planning, and performance evaluation. Additionally, he will collaborate with the coaching staff to implement a unified cricket philosophy and strategy across all Knight Riders teams.
The Knight Riders Group has several teams participating in various T20 leagues worldwide. Ten Doeschate will also serve as an assistant coach for the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the UAE’s International League T20 (ILT20), and the Los Angeles Knight Riders in Major League Cricket (MLC).
Expressing his happiness upon receiving this new responsibility, Ten Doeschate stated that rejoining the Knight Riders is a matter of pride for him. He mentioned that this role allows him to work closely with the franchise’s coaching and analytics teams, strengthen player development systems, and create long-term cricket strategies.
Ten Doeschate has a long-standing relationship with the Knight Riders. He joined Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as a player in 2011 and played a vital role in the team’s victories in the IPL titles of 2012 and 2014. Later, in 2022, he joined the franchise’s coaching staff and was part of the support team during KKR’s third IPL title win in 2024.
Venky Mysore, CEO of Knight Riders Sports, expressed his delight at Ten Doeschate’s return. He noted that Ten Doeschate has a deep understanding of the franchise’s vision and operational methods. His experience will significantly contribute to the future development of Knight Riders. Notably, after winning the 2024 T20 World Cup, Ten Doeschate was included in the support staff of Gautam Gambhir’s team, which became the head coach of the Indian team. As an assistant coach, he played a crucial role in batting and fielding departments, helping the Indian team achieve significant milestones in limited-overs cricket, including winning the Champions Trophy in 2025 and successfully defending their title in 2026.
However, his tenure coincided with a challenging phase for the Test team, which faced a 0-3 series defeat at home against New Zealand, a 0-2 loss to South Africa, and setbacks in the 2025/26 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. Ten Doeschate’s contract with the Indian team ended in June.
He remained with the team until the white-ball series against England, where India faced defeats in both T20 and ODI formats. A primary reason for Ten Doeschate’s departure from the Indian team setup was the extensive travel, which kept him away from his young children and family residing in London.
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