BCCI Confirms New Fielding Coach Before Sri Lanka Tour, Ten Doeschate and T Dilip Exit

The BCCI has confirmed that India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate and fielding coach T Dilip will not be retained once India's United Kingdom tour concludes. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told PTI that ten Doeschate's two-year contract with the Indian men's team ended on June 10 and that T Dilip's contract ended on June 8 after a one-year extension beyond his original term.

The board retained both men through the end of the UK tour rather than parting ways immediately. Saikia said the BCCI will not grant either coach a further extension, and that a new fielding coach will be appointed before the Sri Lanka tour gets under way. He confirmed that two or three candidates are under discussion and that the board expects to finalise the appointment within one or two days.

The change is more than a routine contractual rollover. T Dilip had been with the Indian set-up for several years across men's, women's and age-group cricket and was widely credited with sharper ground fielding across the senior side. Ten Doeschate, a former Netherlands captain, joined the men's staff as a batting consultant in mid-2024 and was promoted into the assistant coach role when the Gautam Gambhir-led support staff was put together. Both names had become familiar to viewers tracking the side's strategy on the boundary rope and in the dressing room during broadcast segments.

Where the contracts stood, and when they ended

Saikia's comments put a specific end-date on each contract. Ten Doeschate's two-year deal concluded on June 10. T Dilip's contract ran past its original term after a one-year extension and concluded on June 8. Neither coach was replaced in the immediate aftermath. Both stayed on through the closing stages of the United Kingdom tour, which included the five-Test series against England and the commitment that ran alongside it.

The decision to let both contracts lapse rather than renew sits alongside a wider reset of the Indian support staff over the last twelve months. The current head coach, the batting consultant and the fielding coach were each appointed after India parted ways with the previous Rahul Dravid-led back-room, and the BCCI has consistently framed those appointments as fixed-term reviews rather than open-ended roles. The June end-dates, the absence of any further extension, and the search for a new fielding coach before the Sri Lanka tour all sit within that pattern.

What Saikia said about the search

The BCCI secretary was direct about the size of the shortlist and the speed at which the board intends to move. He said the board is discussing two or three candidates and expects to name a replacement within one or two days. The same conversation confirmed that India will travel to Sri Lanka with a new fielding coach in place, rather than carrying the vacancy into the tour.

The framing matters. A search that runs to one or two days is unusually tight for a senior India men's appointment, where the BCCI has historically taken longer to complete a process. The shortlist of two or three suggests the work has been quietly done behind the scenes and that a final interview or sign-off is all that remains before the name is announced.

Saikia did not name the candidates in his remarks. The Business Standard report, however, identified Subhadeep Ghosh as the early favourite and the most likely name to be confirmed. Ghosh has worked in the Indian system for six to seven years, with time on the India women's support staff and with India A. He joined the National Cricket Academy set-up under Rahul Dravid and has continued in the pipeline since.

Who Subhadeep Ghosh is, and why his name is in the frame

Ghosh's path through Indian cricket is a route through the development system rather than a route through first-class or international playing pedigree. He moved into the NCA set-up during the period when Dravid was heading the academy and head coach of the senior side, and stayed on across the women's and India A programmes after that.

The appeal for the BCCI is continuity with the existing pipeline. The same group of support staff who have been working with India A and the senior women have been the names floated for senior roles over the last two cycles, and Ghosh's profile fits the pattern of an internal promotion rather than an external hire. The report framed him as the favourite rather than a confirmed appointment, so the BCCI still has the option to choose differently if the formal interview surfaces a stronger candidate.

Saikia did not confirm Ghosh by name, and the BCCI has not published a shortlist. Any reporting on the identity of the favourite should be read as the most likely outcome rather than a done deal.

What changes on the field

T Dilip's tenure produced visible change in India's fielding. The side's catching efficiency inside the ring, the direct-hit rate in the inner circle and the agility shown by senior fielders around the bat all moved upward during his time in the role, and the Indian captain has publicly credited the fielding coach in post-match remarks on multiple occasions.

A new fielding coach will inherit a side that is already comfortable with the modern demands of elite fielding: high catching marks in the deep, direct-hit pressure in the inner ring, and a clear expectation that the slip cordon will hold catches that older-era fielders would have parried. The continuity candidate, Ghosh, has worked with players coming through that same development culture, which suggests the basic training language will not change dramatically.

The change at assistant coach is a different kind of adjustment. Ten Doeschate's remit covered batting strategy in the nets, throw-down work, opposition video and middle-order game-planning. The Indian side's batting order has moved around during the post-Dravid period, and ten Doeschate's input has been part of that period of adjustment. The BCCI has not announced a successor in that role, and it is worth noting that the senior set-up currently includes a head coach, a batting coach, and a fielding coach as the principal named positions.

Where the Sri Lanka tour fits in

The Sri Lanka tour is the next senior assignment for the Indian men's side and the first test of the new fielding coach's tenure. Saikia confirmed that India will have a new fielding coach in place for that series. The series is scheduled to begin in mid-August and includes two Tests, a small number of ODIs and a T20 leg, and the new coach will be working with players who have just finished a long UK summer.

For fantasy cricket followers, the relevant points are practical. The series is short, played in familiar subcontinental conditions, and the most-likely India XI will be picked before the new coach has had more than a handful of training sessions with the squad. That argues for picking on form rather than waiting for a new fielding emphasis to show up in selection patterns.

Conditions in Sri Lanka in August tend to reward spinners, with the ball gripping through the middle overs and the square boundaries at Galle and Colombo tending to shorten scoring options for batters who rely on the aerial route. The previous series between these two sides was a closely fought contest, and the result of the first Test will set the tone for the rest of the tour.

What it means for the WTC cycle and the wider calendar

The Sri Lanka series is also a WTC 2025-27 fixture, and the points percentage swing from a two-Test series in subcontinental conditions is large enough to move India's standing in the cycle. The current table puts Australia at the top, with South Africa and New Zealand close behind and India in the middle of the pack. A series win lifts India, a draw holds the line, and a series loss opens up the gap to the teams above and below.

That calculus will be running in the background while the BCCI finalises its coaching staff. The new fielding coach will not pick the team, but a steady, settled support environment tends to show up in the fielding standards and in the senior players' comfort level with the dressing-room set-up. The board has signalled that it wants that environment locked in before the team reports for Sri Lanka duty.

What to watch next

The next concrete piece of news is the BCCI's announcement of the new fielding coach, which Saikia placed within a one-or-two-day window. Once that name is confirmed, the attention shifts to whether the assistant coach role is filled before the Sri Lanka tour or left vacant through the series. The Indian Premier League 2026 and the Asia Cup window both sit further out on the calendar, and the choice of who fills the fielding coach role will shape how the Indian side prepares for each.

For fantasy players, the immediate step is straightforward. Watch for the fielding coach announcement, watch for the India squad announcement for Sri Lanka, and use the squad list as the cleanest read on how the new support staff will shape selection patterns. The fantasy picks that ride on India's all-round fielding strength have not changed, and the format of the contest you enter matters more than the support staff changes when the XI is already settled.

More cricket news and India team coverage is on the Fantasy Cricket India news desk.