 "Sitanshu Kotak likely to be named Team India's new batting coach ahead of England series")
Former domestic batting great Sitanshu Kotak has reportedly been named Team India’s batting coach for the upcoming T20 and ODI series against England. The news of Sitanshu Kotak joining coach Gautam Gambhir’s support staff closely follows the news that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to add a batting coach after a disastrous Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in Australia where star batters like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma could only amass 221 runs together.
Kotak, who played 130 First-Class and 89 List A matches for Saurashtra, will join Team India’s camp in Kolkata ahead of the England T20 series that starts on 22 January, it was reported by the Indian Express and ESPNCricinfo on Thursday.
“Kotak will be joining the Indian team as a batting coach. The Indian team will be having a three day-camp in Kolkata and players will be reporting on January 18,” a BCCI source told the newspaper.
The Times of India reported that Kotak’s appointment is still not confirmed but the BCCI is “seriously” considering his name.
“Yes, Kotak’s name is being seriously discussed for the role of India’s batting coach, and it will start with the Champions Trophy in February. The BCCI is likely to make an official announcement in this regard. Most of our batsmen [batters], including the seniors, have struggled badly in the last two series. There’s clearly a need to strengthen the support staff of the Indian men’s cricket team from the batting point of view,” a source told TOI on Thursday.
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Gambhir’s current coaching staff includes Abhishek Nayar (assistant coach), Ryan ten Doeschate (assistant coach), Morne Morkel (bowling coach), and T Dilip (fielding coach). Besides Dilip, all other support staff have a history of working with Gambhir at Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises.
The role of the support staff had come under scrutiny after Indian batters failed to get going in the BGT and the visitors lost the five-match series 3-1.
Legendary Sunil Gavaskar had questioned the work support staff was doing with the batters.
“Aapke coaching staff kya kar rahe the? (What was your coaching staff doing in Australia?) Your bowling coach and your batting coach… your batting coach, in particular, against New Zealand when we were bowled out for 46, and the way we were defeated in the remaining matches. Batting mein koi dum nahi tha (There was no punch in the batting). Here also our batting was not strong enough, so questions should be asked – what have you guys done? Why can’t we see any improvement?” he said on Star Sports.
Gavaskar went on to add on Star Sports: “We would understand if you say that the bowling was top class and our batters couldn’t face them. Even the greatest batters have difficulty in facing good bowling. But when good bowling is not happening then tell me what has the coaching staff done? You may ask should we change the batting order, I will ask should we change the coaching staff? We have 2-3 months before going to England (for the Tests).
Who is Sitanshu Kotak?
The 52-year-old former left-handed batter played domestic cricket from 1992-93 to 2013 and also captained Saurashtra. Kotak scored 8061 runs in 130 First-Class matches at an average of 41.76 and smashed 15 hundreds and 55 fifties.
He accumulated 3083 runs in 89 List A matches at an average of 42.23, with three hundreds and 26 fifties.
Since retiring, Kotak has been working as coach. He coached Saurashtra in domestic cricket before joining the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru as a batting coach. He has been with the NCA for the last four years and has consistently been sent with India A as the head coach on foreign tours, including to Bangladesh, South Africa, and Australia.
Kotak was also the assistant coach of now-defunct Gujarat Lions franchise in IPL 2017.
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