The bowling coach of the Australian side, Daniel Vettori, will not be part of the second, third, and fourth day of the opening Test at the Optus Stadium in Perth during the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, scheduled to begin on November 22, to be present with his franchise of the Indian Premier League.
Daniel Vettori will attend the upcoming mega auction of the league for two days, November 24 and 25, as the coach of the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). The signing part of the players will clash with the first red-ball game and make it a bit hard for the three veterans- Vettori, Ricky Ponting, and Justin Langer, who are in Perth either to coach and commentate.
The former spin all-rounder of the New Zealand side is one of the rare coaches in the world of cricket who holds the role of both the assistant coach of an international team besides being the full-time head coach of an IPL franchise and also being the full-time head coach of a Hundred team in the form of Birmingham Phoenix.
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Daniel Vettori is the current bowling coach of the Kangaroos across three formats since 2022, working under Andrew McDonald for a long time. He is valued highly, among the Australian side and has been given the luxury to display his commitment in the franchise coaching role.
“We are very supportive of Dan’s role as Head Coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad. Daniel Vettori will complete the final preparation for the first Test before attending the IPL auction. He will then be with the team for the remainder of the Border Gavaskar Trophy.” The spokesperson of Australia has expressed during an interaction with ESPNcricinfo.
Daniel Vettori to miss portion of Perth Test to be with SRH during IPL 2025 auction
Prioritizing the auction of the IPL over a Test match, besides it being scheduled in Saudi Arabia, is a sign of the times. Ponting and Langer will also miss their commentary commitment with Channel Seven for their presence as the head coaches of Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), respectively.
Daniel Vettori has missed certain parts of the series where the replacement has taken charge of the side. But it will be the very first time of him being away from the team in the middle of the red-ball game. Last time, he flew to India in between their games against Pakistan for the auction.
Cricket Australia (CA) has also advertised a full-time national pace bowling coach who will fill in the place of the 45-year-old during his future tours. He was seen to be with the squad at the WACA on their first day of training, besides throwing the left-arm orthodox balls for the challenge of Ravindra Jadeja.
Both Micheal Hussey and Jim Allenby, who were with the team for their preparation against Pakistan last year, will also be with the national side in the lead-up to the game. Allenby is the former Glamorgan and Somerset all-rounder and has stabled his current base in Perth.
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Daniel Vettori wasn’t part of the T20I side of Australia, which took on the Green Brigade, as their fielding coach, Andre Borovec, shouldered the charge of the three T20Is, which concluded in Hobart on November 18. Both he and the standing captain, Josh Inglis, were expected to fly to Perth on November 19 to join the red-ball squad.
In the absence of Daniel Vettori, the national developmental coach of CA, Lachlan Stevens, who coached the A-side against India A and their Under-19s, will be the additional support staff before the first game that begins on November 22.