Australia’s assistant coach, Daniel Vettori, has decided to skip the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) Test in Perth and instead attend the India Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. Vettori, who’s also Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) head coach, has communicated to Cricket Australia (CA) that he’ll leave the Australian team duties for the India vs Australia 1st Test to be present in Jeddah.
“We are very supportive of Dan’s (Daniel Vettori) role as Head Coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad. 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,” a CA spokesperson said.
IPL auction clash with Perth Test
The 1st BGT Test clashes with the IPL 2025 auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. While the match goes on from November 22-26, the auction will take place on November 24-25. Vettori was able to do both jobs at the same time in the last Australian summer when the auction was on December 23, 2023.
Vettori’s deal as Australian assistant coach
According to Vettori’s deal with CA, the former New Zealand captain has to make himself available for a particular number of days in a year. This allows him to work in franchise leagues. Due to the deal, Vettori can work as a full-time coach in the IPL (SRH) and the Hundred (Birmingham Phoenix), alongside his main gig as an Australian assistant coach.
Lachlan Stevens, Vettori’s replacement
CA are already looking for a full-time pace national bowling coach who’ll cover for Vettori when he’s unavailable. In the mean time, Queensland’s Lachlan Stevens, who coached Australia A recently against India A and also coaches the Under-19 side, will replace Vettori in Perth.
