Team India doesn't have a batting coach despite Gambhir, Nayar and Ten Doeschate's presence.
In the aftermath of India’s Test series defeats to New Zealand at home and then to Australia in Australia, plus the failure to qualify for the ICC WTC 2025 final has resulted in the BCCI deciding to make sweeping changes in the management.
It has been reported that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is seriously thinking about employing a batting coach to aid head coach, Gautam Gambhir, especially after Indian batters were exposed against spin at home to New Zealand and then to seam and swing in Australia.
The probable candidate is former Saurashtra batter Sitanshu Kotak, who is also the head coach of the India A team. He was also the head coach of the Indian team when they went to Ireland for 2 T20Is under Jasprit Bumrah’s captaincy in 2023.
The 52-year-old former left-hander, who led Saurashtra, was a domestic cricket giant and played from 1992-93 to 2013, scoring 8061 runs in 130 first-class matches at an average of 41.76, including 15 hundreds and 55 fifties.
After retiring, the seasoned cricketer went into full-time coaching and, after coaching Saurashtra, became a batting coach at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. The BCCI has chosen him as India A's head coach regularly for the last four years, as the team has toured Bangladesh, South Africa, and Australia.
"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 reliable source in the BCCI told TOI on Thursday.
Currently, India's coaching staff includes Morne Morkel (bowling coach), Abhishek Nayar (assistant coach), Ryan ten Doeschate (assistant coach), and T Dilip (fielding coach). In addition to head coach Gautam Gambhir, India does not have a batting coach, though Nayar's role is to work with the batters.
The support staff function was discussed at a review meeting in Mumbai on January 11.