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BCCI ditches big names, picks Sitanshu Kotak as India batting coach; to start rescue mission from England series: Report

Jan 16, 2025 06:53 PM IST

Sitanshu Kotak will assume the role starting the home white-ball series against England.

England batting great Kevin Pietersen came out publicly to throw his hat in the ring to be India's new batting coach amid the rising concern of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) following the disastrous tour of Australia. However, BCCI ditched the big name to appoint domestic cricket legend Sitanshu Kotak as the new batting coach, with the Saurashtra stalwart reportedly set to assume the role starting the home white-ball series against England. India will play five T20Is and three ODIs against England starting January 22.

India's captain Jasprit Bumrah (C) talks with coach Gautam Gambhir (3rd L) and teammates before the start of day three of the fifth cricket Test match between Australia and India(AFP)
India's captain Jasprit Bumrah (C) talks with coach Gautam Gambhir (3rd L) and teammates before the start of day three of the fifth cricket Test match between Australia and India(AFP)

India's current coaching staff comprises head coach Gautam Gambhir, bowing coach Morne Morkel, fielding coach T Dilip, and two assistant coaches, Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate. With the team having no specialist batting coach, Gambhir and Nayar have focused on the batters since their appointment by the BCCI. However, following a dreadful show by the batters in the whitewash against New Zealand at home and the 1-3 defeat on the tour of Australia, BCCI decided to appoint a new specialist batting coach.

According to a report in the Indian Express, Kotak will assume the role ahead of the much-anticipated Champions Trophy tournament, starting with the T20I series against England at home. The Suryakumar Yadav-led team will reportedly reach Kolkata for the first match on January 18, where India will have a three-day camp.

“Kotak will be joining the Indian team as a batting coach. The Indian team will be having a three day-camp in Kolkata and players will be reporting on January 18,” a source in the Indian board told the national daily.

A look at Sitanshu Kotak's coaching credentials

The 52-year-old, a former captain of Saurashtra, is one of the domestic cricket legends of India, who played the professional sport between 1992 and 2013. Kotak scored 8061 runs in 130 first-class matches at 47.16, with 15 hundreds and 55 fifties. He also has 3083 runs to his name at an average of 42.33 in List A cricket.

Following his retirement, he coached Saurashtra, before becoming the batting coach at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, and also had an IPL stint as an assistant coach of presently-defunct Gujarat Lions. In the last four years, he served as the India A batting coach, with his most recent assignment being the tour of Australia. He was also the interim head coach of the Jasprit Bumrah-led Indian team in the T20I series in Ireland in August 2023.

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ICC Champions Trophy , ICC Champions Trophy Schedule , and Champions Trophy 2025 Points Table – stay ahead with real-time match updates, team standings, and insights. Check live cricket score , player stats, and ICC rankings of top players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli . Get expert analysis, match previews, and in-depth coverage of ICC CT 2025 and IPL 2025, all on HT Crickit, powered by Hindustan Times – your trusted source for cricket news.
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