Sitanshu Kotak to join Indian squad as batting coach for limited overs series against England

Sitanshu Kotak to join Indian squad as batting coach for limited overs series against England

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has added Sitanshu Kotak with the Indian senior men’s team as its batting coach for the forthcoming limited overs series against England, beginning in Kolkata next week.

Kotak is expected to join the Indian team in Kolkata on Saturday for a three-day camp, leading up to the first T20I on January 22 at Eden Gardens.

Currently, India’s senior men’s team does not have a designated batting coach as Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate are assistant coaches, while Morne Morkel and T. Dilip work as bowling and fielding coaches respectively. 

Usually, head coach Gautam Gambhir and Nayar double up as batting coach, but in the wake of India’s abysmal performance in the Australia series, where some of its top batters – including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma – drew flak for getting out in similar fashion regularly, the BCCI discussed the feasibility of appointing a batting coach during a review meeting here last Saturday. Suggestions were also taken from VVS Laxman, the head of the Centre of Excellence.

A left-hand batter in domestic cricket, Kotak amassed over 8,000 first-class runs, including 15 hundreds, in 130 appearances for Saurashtra. 

During his association with the National Cricket Academy, Kotak has also worked with India A teams in the past. A Level-III three coach, he was part of the coaching staff when India toured Ireland in 2023 with Laxman as the head coach.

During the tour of Australia, the legendary Sunil Gavaskar had questioned the role of the Indian support staff, especially the batting coach, by saying that they should be held accountable for the persistent technical issues of seasoned campaigners like Kohli.

While Kotak will work extensively with the batters, sources indicate that there are deliberations in regard to his tenure. In fact, sources suggest that BCCI could look at some of its coaches, who are currently associated with the Centre of Excellence, for short-term batting coach roles as and when there’s a requirement. 

Along with Kotak, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and a few others could also be deputed on a series-to-series basis, however, it needs to be seen whether the candidate is given a tournament-by-tournament assignment or a fixed term of one year.

“It is still in the planning stages. The COE has a strong pool of coaches, and most of them come in with vast international and domestic experience, so if at all, they are considered, their experience could come in handy,” the source added.

Over the last few years, it has been a norm to appoint the NCA coaches as stop-gap coaches whenever multiple series overlap. Kanitkar, Kotak and others have worked with the Indian team in the past, so if indeed, the plan works out, they will come in with a rich experience of coaching senior and India A teams.

A similar concept has been followed with the Indian women’s team, where the NCA staff are deputed for specific roles as per the requirement of the core support staff. Troy Cooley, too, was part of the women’s coaching team from time to time.