Delhi Daredevils appoint Hopes as bowling coach

New Delhi, Jan 29 - Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Daredevils announced on Monday that former Australian all-rounder James Hopes has been appointed as its new bowling coach for the upcoming season of the lucrative Twenty20 tournament.

The Daredevils also confirmed that former Assam and Railways cricketer Subhadeep Ghosh will take over as the fielding coach. The duo will now join the staff led by head coach and former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who was also confirmed in his role earlier this month.

"The rest of the coaching staff, however, will continue to be the same with former cricketers Pravin Amre and Sridharan Sriram as assistant coaches. Sunil Valson is the team manager, whereas Paul Close continues in his role as physiotherapist along with Rajinikanth Sivagnanam as the fitness coach," Delhi Daredevils Chief Executive Hemant Dua said in a statement.

Hopes featured in 84 One-Day Internationals (ODI) and 12 Twenty20 Internationals (T20I) for Australia. He has also represented Queensland in Australia's domestic cricket for close to 15 years. 

He has also played in the IPL for three teams, including for the Delhi Daredevils in 2011. He retired from all forms of cricket in 2016 before moving into a coaching role for both Queensland and Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League (BBL) -- Australia's domestic T20 tournament.

Ghosh represented Assam and Railways in domestic cricket, before becoming a specialist fielding coach. He is currently the fielding coach of the Ranji Trophy team of Andhra Pradesh. 

Previously, he has been the fielding coach of Assam for seven years from the 2009-10 season. He has also done stints at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and the Zonal Cricket Academy (ZCA).

"Once our auction strategy paid off, it was time to also appoint key personnel in the coaching staff. Ricky (Ponting) has had great inputs in both the selection of players and the support staff. We are absolutely delighted to welcome both James and Subhadeep into the Daredevils family," Dua said.

"For James it is a sort of homecoming as he has played for Delhi Daredevils earlier. Now he comes with immense experience both as a cricketer and a coach. He will be a great asset for the squad as we have some excellent young fast bowlers," he added. 

"Subhadeep has been a specialist fielding coach for close to a decade at various levels in first-class cricket and the NCA. We are certain that he will add a lot of value to the squad."

IANS