Mumbai’s off-spin all-rounder Tanush Kotian opened up about learning from veteran spinners like India’s Ravindra Jadeja and Australia’s Nathan Lyon. Kotian has been part of the India A squads and even the India squad in the past as a net bowler.
In Mumbai's 10-wicket crushing of Haryana in the Ranji Trophy on Thursday, Kotian recorded his career-best first-class cricket figures of 8/81.
“I have worked with Morne Morkel. I also talked to Nathan Lyon, who guided me. I was also with Ravindra Jadeja. (Like in Australia), the bounce is extra, so how can I bowl more over-spin balls...? Over there, Nathan Lyon guided me with the run-up and how to use the over-spin. Whatever I learned there, I'm working on that and working with seam positions and variations, so that is helping," Kotian was quoted as saying by PTI.
Notably, Kotian was a member of the Indian team during the 2024–25 tour of Australia and went to Sri Lanka recently as a net bowler earlier this year.
Bowling with the Kookaburra ball is a challenge for spinners, according to Kotian, but Indian bowlers have been practicing it at the Center of Excellence in Bengaluru.
"It is always fun bowling with the SG balls but also with the Kookaburra, whose seam goes inside after 30 overs, making it difficult for the spinners. When we (West Zone) won the Duleep Trophy (in 2022-23) with Ajinkya Rahane as captain, we had played with the Kookaburra ball, and I had done well that year. Even in the COE, when we go for five- or six-day camps with Sunil Joshi sir, we practice with different balls, and that is fun to work on," Kotian added.
“I have had four years of progress and improvement in my bowling. I did a lot of tours; I was also with the India team. They all guided me a lot, like I was practicing with (BCCI COE spin bowling coach) Sunil Joshi, Jatin (Paranjape), and Rajesh (Sanil) (childhood coach and mentor). A lot of people have guided me, and I am trying to use that experience in my bowling.
I have improved a lot in line and length. I have brought in two-three variations, which are helping me deceive and beat the batsman. I am trying to do that in every match and working on my accuracy as well,” Kotian further said.
Kotian did not read much into the competition with other off-spin bowling all-rounders, like Madhya Pradesh’s Saransh Jain, who got to make his India Test debut on the tour of Sri Lanka recently.
“No, it's not in my mind. Even though they selected Saransh Jain, he's doing well. I'm doing well too. But my aim is to perform as well as I can for the Mumbai team, whether it's the Irani Cup or Duleep Trophy, wherever I go. In every match, I want to perform like that. I don't know about the Border-Gavaskar Trophy; that's up to the selectors," he added.
(PTI inputs)
