Delhi Capitals have added former England batter Ian Bell to their back-room staff for the 2026 IPL, slotting him in as assistant coach alongside head coach Hemang Badani. The franchise confirmed the move on Tuesday, a little under two months before the new season begins.
Bell, now 43, joins a side that finished fifth last year—just one point shy of the play-offs—and the brief to him is simple: nudge a promising squad over that final hurdle. “We believe Ian’s calm presence and technical eye will complement Hemang’s methods,” the Capitals said in a statement. Kevin Pietersen remains team mentor, while Venugopal Rao continues as director of cricket and Munaf Patel stays in charge of the bowling group.
The numbers on Bell’s playing CV are well-known: 118 Tests, 161 ODIs, eight T20Is and 7727 Test runs, including 22 hundreds. Since hanging up his boots he has kept busy, working with England age-group programmes and spending time in white-ball leagues. He assisted Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred, consulted with Sri Lanka during their 2024 tour of England, and had a short stint with New Zealand just before the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Bell said in the release, “Coaching in the IPL is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. The schedule’s intense, the crowds are loud—perfect for testing ideas and learning quickly.”
Badani welcomed the appointment, noting, “A fresh set of eyes is handy when margins are so small. Ian understands batting basics but also the newer Twenty20 tricks.”
For Delhi, it is another incremental step rather than a headline-grabbing overhaul—very much in keeping with the way the franchise has gone about its business since last year’s near-miss.
