Amid Team India's dismal batting performances in the recent Test series against New Zealand and Australia, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCCI) on Thursday named Sitanshu Kotak as India's batting coach ahead of the upcoming limited-overs series against England and the Champions Trophy next month, reported PTI.
Kotak flew to Australia with the India A side in November 2024 and is currently the head coach of the India A team. Kotak is a longtime staff of the National Cricket Academy as its batting coach.
The decision was taken after assistant coach Abhishek Nayar's performance was scrutinised during the tour of Australia.
"It is clear that Abhishek Nayar's expertise isn't helping the players. Kotak has been a specialist batting coach for a lengthy period of time and has also got the trust of the players," a senior BCCI official told PTI.
"We have an India A shadow tour and Kotak normally handles the A team. He is a qualified Level 3 coach and has assisted VVS Laxman in the past and was also the head coach when India toured Ireland last year. Since he is NCA staff, he can be put anywhere," PTI quoted the source as saying.
Earlier, he also was the head coach of the Jasprit Bumrah-led Indian team that toured Ireland for a T20I series in August 2023.
Aged 52 years now, Kotak was a left-handed batter and played domestic cricket between 1992-93 season to 2013, scoring 8,061 runs in 130 first-class matches at an average of 41.76 with 15 centuries and 55 half-centuries.
He was particularly known for two strokes – the cover drive when the ball was pitched up and the flick when it was pitched on pads.
After his retirement, Kotak started coaching full-time and eventually became a batting coach at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
For the past four years, the BCCI has regularly appointed Kotak as India A head coach. He has been with the team to Bangladesh, South Africa, and Australia. Among other things, he was also the assistant coach of the defunct Gujarat Lions in IPL 2017.
With agency inputs.
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