Southern Brave’s men’s team will enter 2026 with a coaching partnership that already knows what it wants to be.

Hemang Badani has been appointed Head Coach, with Ian Bell joining as Assistant Coach. It is a new chapter for the Brave, but not a new relationship. The pair arrive with an existing understanding, having worked together across teams within the wider GMR cricket structure.

That matters in The Hundred.

This is not a format that gives teams weeks to find rhythm. Games arrive quickly, tactical calls have to be made instantly and a season can turn on small moments. For a coaching team, clarity is everything. Players need to know their roles, trust the plan and understand how the team wants to play.

Badani and Bell most recently worked together in the IPL, where Badani served as Head Coach of Delhi Capitals and Bell joined him as Assistant Coach. Their work across GMR-aligned teams has given them a shared language around preparation, selection and short-format cricket.

For Southern Brave, that alignment gives the men’s squad a strong starting point.

Badani brings tactical experience from franchise cricket and a clear understanding of how to manage squads in high-pressure environments. Bell brings direct knowledge of The Hundred, having previously coached at Birmingham Phoenix, along with the perspective of an international batter who has spent years reading the game at the highest level.

Together, their focus will be on building a consistent style of play and creating an environment where the squad can perform with confidence.

The Brave men’s group for 2026 has been shaped with balance in mind. There is pace, spin, power, finishing ability and all-round depth. The job now is to turn those pieces into a team with a recognisable identity.

That will be Badani and Bell’s biggest task.

The Hundred rewards sides that play with certainty. It is not enough to have good players. The best teams know when to attack, when to hold, which match-ups matter and how to stay calm when a game starts moving quickly.

Southern Brave now have a coaching pair built around trust, experience and shared thinking. For the men’s squad, that could prove just as important as any signing.

A new season brings a new voice. For the Brave, Badani and Bell will be central to how that voice is heard on the field.