Sitanshu Kotak to join Indian Cricket Team as batting coach ahead of England T20I series - Reports

Sitanshu Kotak played 130 first-class matches from 1992/93 to 2013.

Sitanshu Kotak, the former Saurashtra captain and batsman, is reportedly set to join the Indian dressing room as the new batting coach ahead of the upcoming five-match T20I series against England.

On Thursday morning, it was learned that the BCCI is mulling over hiring a batting coach for the men’s team in the aftermath of the the test series losses against New Zealand and Australia.

While Kevin Pietersen threw his name in the ring as soon as the news became public, it was learned that the board officials prefer an Indian domestic legend to be the new batting coach over an overseas player.

Who is the new batting coach of the Indian cricket team?

According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, Saurashtra’s Sitanshu Kotak has been appointed as the new batting coach of the Indian men’s cricket team. He will kick start his tenure with the home white-ball matches against England, starting January 22.

The 52-year-old from Saurashtra featured in 130 first-class matches from the 1992/93 season to 2013. He piled up over 8000 runs at an average of 41.76 with 15 centuries and 55 fifties. He also scored over 3000 List-A runs with three centuries and 26 fifties.

Kotak has been the batting coach at the National Cricket Academy since 2019. He has been the head coach of several India A tours.

Kotak served as assistant coach to VVS Laxman whenever Laxman was assigned the head coach duty of the Indian team in the last few years when Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir were rested or unavailable.

The current Indian coaching setup includes head coach Gautam Gambhir, bowling coach Morne Morkel, fielding coach T Dilip, assistant coaches Ryan ten Doeschate and Abhishek Nayar.

A few days ago, the BCCI had a review meeting with Gambhir and Rohit Sharma. The failures of Indian batsmen against New Zealand and Australia were the chief reason for India’s series defeats and it was discussed heavily. To address that, the BCCI has roped in Kotak as the batting coach.

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