Former India batter Hemang Badani has been appointed as the head coach of the Hundred franchise Southern Brave ahead of the upcoming season, who is also the head coach of the IPL team Delhi Capitals.
As the DC’s owners, GMR acquired 49% stake in Southern Brave, the appointment was swift to make. Former England batter Ian Bell is set to serve as his assistant for the upcoming season of The Hundred. The Hundred franchise Southern Brave made the appointments official through a social media post on Instagram. The appointment of Badani can be very useful for the team, as the former cricketer has plenty of experience in coaching.
Delhi Capitals had a promising campaign in IPL 2025 under the guidance of Hemand Badani
Under his guidance, Delhi Capitals had a promising campaign in the previous season of the Indian Premier League. Delhi Capitals started their campaign with good momentum, but they lost a spot in the play-offs as they dropped a few points in the closing phase of the group stage.
In IPL 2025, Delhi Capitals concluded as the 5th team of the points table. In the last 5 games, they managed to get only one win, three defeats, and a washed-out match. In 14 matches, the team bagged 15 points, one point less than the Mumbai Indians, who claimed the fourth spot with 16 points.
A brief introduction of Hemang Badani
Apart from leading Delhi Capitals, the 49-year-old has also been involved in some coaching capacity with other GMR-owned teams – in the MLC (Seattle Orcas) and ILT20 (Dubai Capitals).
During the days as an active cricketer, the Tamil Nadu-born played 4 Tests and 40 ODIs for Team India. He has four half-centuries and a century under his belt in the 50-overs format.
Ian Bell’s association will help Southern Brave to manage the local talents, as the former England batter is well aware of English cricket. With Bell on board, the franchise would like to explore more talent from the route.
Badani and Bell will have to accomplish a tough job
Like Badani, Ian Bell also experienced multiple coaching jobs with various teams. He has previously worked with England’s U19 and Lions sides. He also worked as the batting coach of Sri Lanka’s Test team on their tour of England in 2024, and had a brief stint with the New Zealand men’s team during their tour of England before the 2023 ODI World Cup. In The Hundred, Ian Bell served Birmingham Phoenix as well as the assistant coach.
Southern Brave claimed the league title in the inaugural season of The Hundred in 2021. In 2024, they finished as the runners-up. Though in the previous season, their performance was disappointing, losing half of their matches and failing to qualify for the knockouts. The main target of the duo of Badani and Bell will be to revive the team’s performance and lead them to glory again.
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