Gautam Gambhir Advocated for Sitanshu Kotak as Batting Coach in BCCI Review Meeting: Report

According to a report in the Times of India, former Indian cricketer and domestic cricket legend, Sandeep Patil Kotak is expected to join the Indian cricket team after being recommended by former Indian opener, Gautam Gambhir. The recommendation was made during a BCCI review meeting held in Mumbai following the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. The BCCI officials in attendance agreed to Gambhir's request and Kotak's hiring is expected to be officially announced soon. The meeting also saw India captain Rohit Sharma in attendance.

"Coach Gambhir had asked for a batting coach during the review meeting. Discussions were ongoing since then and now Kotak will be added to the support staff," a senior BCCI official, who was part of the meeting, told the national daily.

BCCI felt the need to add a specialist batting coach to the Indian set-up after a dreadful show by the batters in the home series against New Zealand in November, followed by the 1-3 loss in Australia.

"Most of our batsmen [batters], including the seniors, have struggled badly in the last two series. There's clearly a need to strengthen the support staff of the Indian men's cricket team from the batting point of view," said a reliable source in the BCCI.

Sitanshu Kotak, a long-time NCA batting coach

Following his retirement, the 52-year-old had served as the Saurashtra coach before joining the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru as its batting coach. The BCCI then appointed Kotak as the coach for the India A team, with his most recent assignment being the tour of Australia. He also was the interim head coach for the Jasprit Bumrah-led Indian side in the T20I tour of Ireland in August 2023.

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