Australia Suffer Massive Blow, Set To Lose Important Member Midway Through 1st Test vs India: Report

Australia are set to lose a crucial member of their staff midway during the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Former New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori – currently the assistant coach of Australia – is expected to leave the Australia dressing room in order to attend the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction, which clashes with the Test match days. This is because Vettori is also the head coach of IPL 2024 runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), and would need to be present in order to aid their team-building in the vital mega auction.

The IPL 2025 mega auction is on November 24 and 25, colliding directly with the duration of the first Australia-India Test in Perth, which is scheduled to run from November 22 to 26.

Not only Vettori but also Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer are expected to leave their commentary roles with Australian-based Channel Seven midway through the Perth Test, in order to attend the mega auction with their respective franchises, as per a report by The Age. Ponting is head coach of Punjab Kings (PBKS), while Langer is head coach of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

The IPL is now one of the richest and most-watched leagues in sport worldwide, and holds enormous sporting and commercial importance, forcing the likes of Vettori to consider skipping even a Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in order to attend the IPL auction.

Vettori’s Sunrisers already have two Australia Test stalwarts retained, in Pat Cummins and Travis Head, along with Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy. SRH will head into the auction with a purse of INR 45 crore.

As a player, Vettori played 113 Tests and 295 ODIs for Australia’s Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand, but joined Australia’s coaching staff in May 2022.

More than a year later, in August 2023, Vettori was also appointed the head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad, and guided them to the runners-up spot in IPL 2024.