Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders announced the appointment of Ryan ten Doeschate as its Head of Cricket Strategy, marking his return to the Knight Riders family in a role that will oversee cricket strategy, talent acquisition and development across its global franchises.
In his new role, Ryan will lead the strategic direction for scouting, player recruitment, squad planning and performance evaluation across the Knight Riders network. He will work closely with the coaching teams to help build a consistent cricketing philosophy and approach across all Knight Riders franchises. As part of his role, he will also serve as Assistant Coach for Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the ILT20 and Los Angeles Knight Riders in the MLC.
Venky Mysore, CEO, Knight Riders Sports, said: “We are delighted to welcome Tendo back to the Knight Riders family. His deep understanding of our philosophy, combined with his experience across franchise and international cricket, makes him ideally suited for this role. He will help shape the next phase of growth across the Knight Riders ecosystem.”
Commenting on his appointment, Ryan ten Doeschate said: “I’m excited to be back with the Knight Riders in this role. This is a unique opportunity to work with the coaching & analytics teams across our global franchises to strengthen our scouting/player development systems, and to build a long-term cricket strategy.”
Ryan’s journey with the Knight Riders family, started first as a player for KKR in 2011 & he was a key member of the title-winning squads in IPL 2012 and 2014. He later became an important part of the coaching group in 2022 and during their third IPL championship title in 2024.
Ryan Ten Doeschate stepped down as Indian Assistant Head Coach
Just 2 weeks prior to India’s tour of Sri Lanka, Ryan ten Doeschate has stepped down as India’s men’s assistant coach, bringing an end to his two-year stint with the national team, while Subhadeep Ghosh will be India’s new fielding coach after T Dilip’s contract came to an end and was not renewed.
Ten Doeschate and Dilip’s final assignment was India’s white-ball tour of England. Both will, thus, not travel with Team India for their two-Test tour of Sri Lanka in August, while it will be the first international assignment for Subhadeep, who has been the fielding coach of India A teams in the past.
During India’s England tour, Ten Doeschate informed the BCCI of his decision to leave, despite being offered an extension until 2027 by the board. Although the BCCI was keen to retain him, the former Netherlands all-rounder declined the offer, citing personal reasons. With a young family, Ten Doeschate opted to step away from the demands of international cricket and its relentless travel schedule.
Meanwhile, fielding coach T Dilip is parting ways with the national team following the completion of his tenure. He will not travel with the squad for the upcoming Test tour of Sri Lanka.
Ten Doeschate joined the Indian coaching setup in July 2024 after former India opener Gautam Gambhir succeeded Rahul Dravid as the head coach following India’s T20 World Cup triumph. Having worked closely with Gambhir during their successful stint at Kolkata Knight Riders, the former Netherlands all-rounder was brought into the national setup by Gambhir alongside bowling coach Morne Morkel.
During Ten Doeschate’s stint, India won the Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup in 2025 and successfully defended the 2026 T20 World Cup, although the Test side endured a difficult period, losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia before suffering series defeats against New Zealand (3-0) and South Africa (2-0) at home.
