Daniel Vettori to skip Australia coaching duties for IPL mega-auction

Daniel Vettori, Australia’s bowling coach, will skip the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test between India and Australia at Perth to fulfil his duties with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the upcoming IPL mega-auction in Saudi Arabia. 

The first Test in Perth starts on Friday (November 22), with the auction on November 24 and 25 clashing with the fixture. The clash means that two former cricketers – Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer, coach of Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants respectively — would also be skipping their broadcasting duties for the Perth Test. 

Vettori, meanwhile, is the only coach among the trio. The former New Zealand cricketer is among the rare coaches who is contracted with a national side as well as two franchise teams — SRH in the IPL and Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred. He has been Australia’s bowling coach since 2022, ever since Andrew McDonald took over as the head coach — Vettori’s long-time friend since both were teammates for the Delhi franchise in the IPL and the Bengaluru side from 2011 onwards. Consequently, Cricket Australia (CA) has often made special arrangements for Vettori like this.

"We are very supportive of Dan's role as Head Coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad," a source told ESPNcricinfo. 

"Dan 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."

CA's national development coach, Lachlan Stevens, who recently coached Australia A against India A and is Australia Under 19s full-time coach, will step into Vettori’s shoes for the Perth Test. 

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