Gautam Gambhir Era Turns Ruthless! Another Long-Serving Staffer Axed Before Asia Cup

Team India part ways with long-serving masseur [Source: @StarcKKR, @BCCI/X.com]

In a big shake-up just ahead of the Asia Cup 2025, the BCC has let go of one of Team India’s longest-serving support staff members. Rajeev Kumar, the team’s trusted masseur for over a decade, will not be offered a contract extension, marking another major change under new head coach Gautam Gambhir’s regime.

Since Gambhir took over as head coach in 2024, assistant batting coach Abhishek Nayar and strength and conditioning coach Soham Desai have been axed from the support staff.

Even fielding coach T Dilip was fired earlier this year, but was later recalled before the England series.

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Gautam Gambhir Continues To Shake Up India’s Support Staff

According to PTI, in another fall under head coach Gautam Gambhir’s regime, masseur Rajeev Kumar will be parting ways with Team India. 

Rajeev, who has been with the Indian cricket team for more than 10 years, was seen travelling with the squad during their recent tour of England. However, reports suggest that his contract will not be renewed. 

The report also claims that an influential member within the Indian team’s think tank believes that keeping support staff around for too long leads to diminishing returns.

The argument is that over-familiarity with players can create comfort zones that may affect the team’s growth. This line of thought has led to multiple backroom reshuffles since Gambhir replaced Rahul Dravid as head coach.

What Does India’s Support Staff Look Like Now?

As things stand, Team India’s current support team includes Ryan ten Doeschate (assistant and fielding coach), Sitanshu Kotak (batting coach), Morne Morkel (bowling coach), and Adrian Le Roux (strength and conditioning coach). 

T Dilip, Raghu (throwdown specialist), logistics manager Upadhyaya, and video analyst Hari also continue their roles.

Apart from support staff, Gambhir also led a leadership transition, promoting Shubman Gill as captain in Tests and vice-captain in T20Is. If rumours are to be believed, Gill could soon be handed the captaincy hat for all three formats before 2027.

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