[Watch] When Gautam Gambhir described Ryan ten Doeschate as someone he can take a bullet for
Former Netherlands all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate, along with former India all-rounder Abhishek Nayar, is set to join India's support staff as assistant coach for the tour of Sri Lanka. The pair will work with newly appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir. Doeschate and Nayar were assistant coaches of Kolkata Knight Riders, who won IPL 2024, while Gambhir was the mentor.
India will play three T20Is and three ODIs in Sri Lanka from July 27 to August 7. This will be the first assignment for Gambhir as head coach, having taken over from Rahul Dravid.
As per ESPNcricinfo, Ten Doeschate and Nayar will reunite with Gambhir as assistant coaches for the tour of Sri Lanka, while Morne Morkel has been approached for the role of India's new bowling coach.
Speaking about Ten Doeschate, Gambhir was highly effusive in praise of the former Dutch all-rounder in the past. In fact, during KKR's jersey launch event earlier this year, he described the 44-year-old as 'the greatest team man' he ever played with and also someone he 'can take a bullet for'.
[Watch from 1:50 onwards]
"When I talk about selflessness, the greatest team man I have ever played with, the most selfless human being, someone I can take a bullet for, someone I can trust for life ... In 2011, my first game as a KKR captain, we only had four overseas players available. This man had a fabulous 50-over World Cup," Gambhir had said during the jersey launch.
"We went into that game with only three overseas players. He was carrying drinks in that game with no disappointment on his face. He taught me selflessness - Ryan ten Doeschate. These are people who taught me to be a leader," the 42-year-old had added.
Ten Doeschate was appointed the fielding coach of Kolkata Knight Riders franchise in November 2022.
Who is Ryan ten Doeschate?
Ten Doeschate (44) played 33 ODIs and 24 T20Is for Netherlands, scoring 1541 and 533 runs respectively. He hit five hundreds in one-day cricket. The former Dutch star was also a decent medium pacer, claiming 55 wickets in ODIs and 13 in T20Is.
He played 29 matches in the IPL from 2011 to 2015, scoring 326 runs at a strike rate of 138.72. He claimed two wickets at an economy rate of 7.23. Ten Doeschate is currently with Los Angeles Knight Riders as an assistant to head coach Phil Simmons. He has also served as Kent's batting coach.