NEW DELHI, July 29, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Former India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has returned to the IPL's Kolkata Knight Riders franchise as its head of cricket strategy, the team announced on Wednesday.

The 46-year-old ten Doeschate, a former Netherlands all-rounder, ended his two-year contract with the Indian men's senior team after the white-ball tour of England earlier this month.

"In his new role, Ryan will lead the strategic direction for scouting, player recruitment, squad planning and performance evaluation across the Knight Riders network," the franchise said in a statement.

"He will work closely with the coaching teams to help build a consistent cricketing philosophy and approach across all Knight Riders franchises."

Three-time Indian Premier League winners Kolkata are co-owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

The Knight Riders sports group also has teams in the Caribbean Premier League (Trinbago Knight Riders), the International League T20 (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), and US Major League Cricket (Los Angeles Knight Riders).

"This is a unique opportunity to work with the coaching & analytics teams across our global franchises to strengthen our scouting/player development systems, and to build a long-term cricket strategy," ten Doeschate was quoted as saying in the statement.

He played a key part as a player for Kolkata in their 2012 and 2014 IPL title wins, and was part of the coaching group in 2022 and during their third IPL triumph in 2024.