Team India assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak has hit back at the detractors for criticizing the Indian team for losing the T20I series to Ireland. He stated that the Men in Blue were a side in transition with a change in captaincy and were prepping for the next T20 World Cup in 2028.

India suffered a humiliating 0-2 whitewash at the hands of Ireland, their first bilateral T20I series loss since winning the T20 World Cup 2024. And lost the second T20I against England in Manchester after the first match was abandoned due to rain.

Such defeats "can happen" to a squad that has seen as many changes as India and is attempting to prepare for the 2028 T20 World Cup, according to Kotak. This Gautam Gambhir era has seen India struggle on sports fields.  

The same was evident at the 2026 T20 World Cup, which Ireland masterfully utilized. In an increasingly brutal format, the bowling has lacked the match-winning consistency needed, while the batting middle order has appeared weak.

“See, we aim to improve in all three departments: batting, bowling, and fielding," Kotak said at the pre-match press conference for the third T20I against England. “After the last World Cup, we have wanted to go to the next level, because all teams will want to improve. We don’t think about one match. Sometimes, when you win a match, people praise you, but then if you lose another and drop two catches, they say you didn’t field well.

We hadn’t lost a single series in two years, won the World Cup, won the Asia Cup, and everyone said ‘very good ’, and now do match haarne par itne saare log bol rahe hai, ‘match haar rahe hain’ (After 2 defeats, everyone is saying ‘they are losing’). It’s a game!,” Kotak said during the pre-match press conference.

“We have had a transition; the captain has been changed. Hardik is not here; you are trying to introduce new players to prepare for two years down the line. It shouldn’t happen, but these things can happen. There are limitations, but we know to win the next World Cup, we have to be better than the last World Cup," he added.

Trent Bridge will host the third T20I as India aim to level the series 1-1.

(PTI inputs)