IPL 2017: Gujarat Lions a more balanced side this year, says assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak

Rajkot: Gujarat Lions assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak on Friday said the present team is much more balanced as compared to the last year’s squad.

“I think we have a much balanced side as compared to our last year’s squad,” Sitanshu Kotak, who is in charge of Gujarat Lions’ practice session till the arrival of head coach Brad Hodge, said.

“We have more options, particularly in the bowling department, which we didn’t have last time and had to depend on couple of bowlers,” he said.

“Our bowling was a bit weak last year and we had to depend on a couple of seam bowlers throughout the season because of not having much options. But this time, the inclusion of two experienced bowlers like Munaf Patel and Manpreet Gony and two young bowlers — Basil Thampi and Nathu Singh — has put us in a position to change the bowling combination as per the conditions,” he said.

According to Kotak, the team has plenty of options, particularly in the batting department as it has openers like Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Jason Roy and Aaron Finch.

“Who will open will be decided by the team management once the head coach Brad Hodge joins the team, but we have a very strong batting line up. Suresh Raina has always been a good and top-ranked batsman in the shortest format of the game,” he said.

Dinesh Karthik is in good form, having scored a century in the Deodhar trophy final, while Ravindra Jadeja too is in good form and useful in all the three departments, Kotak said.

“In the spin bowling department, we have two leg spinners — Tejas Barokha and Subham Agarwal. So I think overall we have options in every department and can choose the eleven according to the conditions”, he said.

Gujarat Lions will play their first match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on 7 April.

The Lions had won their two matches against KKR in the previous event, and Kotak felt that last year’s performance will help the team to have the upper hand while playing against KKR.