Delhi Capitals DROP big surprise before IPL 2026 as they appoint THIS star player as assistant coach
The Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) is all set to begin. All the franchises have the same mindset to win this year’s IPL edition. However, the team with no title, Delhi Capitals, also looked to perform well as they showcased their passion to win the trophy in the auction.
Delhi Capitals appointed Ian Bell as their assistant coach
However, Delhi Capitals also made some great changes in their management as they appointed former England star and one of the greatest batters, Ian Bell as their assistant coach for the upcoming IPL 2026 edition. DC confirmed this on their social media handles on Tuesday (February 10).
Speaking about Ian Bell’s career, the former England star has played 118 Tests, 161 ODIs and 8 T20Is. The great fact about Bell is that he never played in the IPL and made his debut as a coach.
The England great is now a Dilliwala
Welcome home, Ian Bell pic.twitter.com/UqYE53rbrx
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) February 10, 2026
Ian Bell’s coaching journey after retirement
After announcing his retirement from cricket in 2020, he decided to share his experiences with teams like the England Lions and the England Under-19 team. Not only this, he was also the batting coach of Sri Lanka’s Test team during the 2024 England tour.
Ian Bell was also part of the New Zealand men’s team for a short time period during their England tour before the 2023 ODI World Cup. However, he also shared his experience for Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred as assistant coach.
At the Capitals, Bell will work with Director of Cricket Venugopal Rao, head coach Hemang Badani, and bowling coach Munaf Patel. In IPL 2025, Matthew Mott was the assistant coach. The team started well but later lost momentum and finished fifth, missing the playoffs.
Delhi Capitals squad for the IPL 2026
Abhishek Porel, Ajay Mandal, Ashutosh Sharma, Axar Patel, Dushmantha Chameera*, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Madhav Tiwari, Mitchell Starc*, Mukesh Kumar, Nitish Rana (T), Sameer Rizvi, T. Natarajan, Tripurana Vijay, Tristan Stubbs*, Vipraj Nigam, David Miller*, Ben Duckett*, Auqib Dar, Pathum Nissanka*, Lungi Ngidi, Sahil Parikh, Prithvi Shaw, Kyle Jamison