Indian batters looked out of sorts while tackling spin in the recently held ODI series in Sri Lanka. The Men in Blue lost the three-match series 2-0 after the first ODI in Colombo ended in a tie. It was their first bilateral series loss to Sri Lanka in the 50-over format since 1997.
In all three ODIs, the visitors failed to chase down sub-250 targets, including a dismal 138 all-out in the last fixture that saw them suffering a 110-run defeat.
Ryan Ten Doeschate, who travelled with the Indian team as one of the two assistant coaches, was also left surprised to see the Indian batting line-up struggling against spin.
The former Dutch cricketer didn’t expect that it would be a key area of concern, and he is now eager to help the Indian batters regain their mojo against spin.
Sri Lankan spinners took 27 Indian wickets during the three-match ODI series in the island nation.
“One of the challenges I wasn’t expecting and I kind of overlooked is the playing of spin by Indian batters. We got undone in Sri Lanka,” Ten Doeschate said on TalkSport Cricket.
“The mindset of India has been such that they’ve been so desperate to do well overseas. The focus has moved to doing well in Australia, England [so] that we’ve kind of let playing spin, which was always a strength of the Indian team, fall back a little bit,” he added.
“That’s one thing I’m looking forward to helping with, getting to that position where Indians are the best players of spin in the world again,” he continued.
After his retirement from professional cricket in 2021, Ryan Ten Doeschate has gained much experience as a coach. He has been the part of coaching set-up at Kent, Kolkata Knight Riders and Los Angeles Knight Riders.
Talking about his role with the Indian team, Ryan said: “I don’t think much of what we’re going to bring is technical knowledge to these guys.”
“It’s more about mindsets, situational awareness, how we think they can control certain phases of the game. [It’s about] throwing ideas out there, de-briefing and keeping the mental space really good. That’s going to be really important,” he stated.
Ten Doeschate admitted that the experience would be “exciting” and “daunting” at the same time as he highlighted the ambitions of the Indian team going forward.
“It’s exciting and kind of daunting at the same time. In terms of what we’re looking forward to, qualifying for the WTC final [next June is a goal]. There’s a great opportunity with 10 Tests left, five in India [over the next couple of months] and then going to Australia [for five more at the end of 2024] is going to be great,” he said.
The 2025 Champions Trophy is due to be held in Pakistan early next year and in the summer, the WTC final will take place at Lord’s.
“Then in the medium term there’s the Champions Trophy [in February 2025]. With only three ODIs left in the prep phase, it’s going to be really challenging to switch between the formats and get the team ready for that, which again is something they’re desperate to win,” Ten Doeschate remarked.
“Then in the next [WTC] cycle, the tour to England [summer of 2025] is going to be fantastic and then prepping the team for the [2026] T20 World Cup.
“In terms of timing, it’s quite difficult to walk into a team that’s just come back with the [2024 T20] World Cup, but in terms of what’s ahead for the next 18 months, it’s mouth-watering as a coach. It’s all the series you want to be involved in and all the challenges you want to come up against,” he concluded.
