The Delhi Capitals have expanded their support staff ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 by hiring former England cricketer Ian Bell as their new assistant coach. On Tuesday, the franchise confirmed Bell’s hiring, which marks his first involvement in the IPL in any manner.
Ian Bell, one of England’s most successful batters during his playing days, brings with him a wealth of experience despite never having played in an IPL event. He was an England international Test player, playing in 118 Tests, 161 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and eight Twenty20 internationals before retiring from all formats of the professional game in September 2020. He has also excelled as a coach, gradually climbing the coaching ranks at the different levels of the game.
The right-hander batter is working with England’s Lions and U-19 teams, where he has been very helpful in developing players and identifying talent post retirement. He now also has the experience of having worked as Sri Lankas Test team batting coach on their tour to England in 2024.
The England great is now a Dilliwala 💙❤️
Welcome home, Ian Bell 🏡😌 pic.twitter.com/UqYE53rbrx
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) February 10, 2026Bell also has coaching experience with other international teams and had a spell in charge of New Zealand’s men when they toured England before the 2023 ODI World Cup. He gained some valuable franchise cricket experience in The Hundred, where he helped Birmingham Phoenix in the men’s league.
Bell becomes part of a coaching team at the Delhi Capitals that is led by Director of Cricket Venugopal Rao and also includes head coach Hemang Badani and bowling coach Munaf Patel. His appointment was a result of a backroom staff shuffle that saw Australian coach Matthew Mott join as assistant for 2025.
It was a decent season for the Capitals in IPL 2025 where they once again began well but slumped later on to end at number five in the points table thus missing the qualification spots. Bell’s signing is a statement of the franchise’s aims to bring new thinking and talent into the team to aid in its recovery and move further up their IPL 2026 campaign.
