Former Saurashtra batsman Sitanshu Kotak has been appointed India’s batting coach ahead of the limited overs series against England and the Champions Trophy. Kotak, 52, has been serving as the batting coach at the National Cricket Academy for a long time and has also been on tours with the senior and A teams.
A senior BCCI official said that the performance of assistant coach Abhishek Nair during the Australia tour was not as expected. He said, “It is clear that the players are not getting help from Abhishek Nair. Kotak has been a batting coach for a long time and the players trust him.”
The technical weaknesses of the Indian batsmen were exposed in Australia, where Virat Kohli kept losing wickets on balls going outside the off stump. Kotak has scored more than 8000 runs in domestic cricket including 15 centuries. The Indian team will play a series of five T20 and three ODI matches against England from January 22.
According to sources, the India A team is also scheduled to tour, and Kotak usually stays with the A teams. He is a level three coach and has been assistant to VVS Laxman in the past. He was also the coach of India during the Ireland tour last year. Since he is part of the NCA staff, he can be sent anywhere.
It is understood that Abhishek Nair’s review is underway. It is believed that he is available only to influential senior players in whose recruitment he has played a role. On the Australia tour, great former batsman Sunil Gavaskar has questioned the role of the Indian support staff, saying they should be held accountable for the frequent technical problems with players like Kohli. The support staff also includes former South African fast bowler Morne Morkel (bowling) and Netherlands’ Ryan ten Deutsche (fielding).
