Ahead of the Test series against New Zealand, the Indian coaching set-up will be split into two groups, with batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and bowling coach Morne Morkel linking up with the red-ball squad for the two-match series, beginning in Wellington on November 19.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir and spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule, however, will continue with the ODI team, which will travel to Mount Maunganui after the third game in Hamilton to play the remaining two matches on Friday and Sunday.
“It can still change, but as far as I know, obviously Gautam will have to be here – the one-day World Cup is coming, so he will be staying here and probably Sairaj will stay here. Me, Morne and some other staff will go to Wellington,” Kotak said on Monday, the eve of the third ODI.
“That’s the plan, but like I said, Gautam will make the final decision. It can change, but this is how it will likely be. We’ll just try and see that their loading, their fitness, their practice – we do as much preparation as the conditions permit.”
India currently lead the ODIs 2-0, and another win would seal the series, giving them their first 50-overs series victory in New Zealand since 2019. The bigger picture, however, is the Test series. India have not won in New Zealand since 2009, when they clinched a 1-0 victory under MS Dhoni. More importantly, with the race for the World Test Championship still open, every match from here on becomes crucial for the Indian Test team.
Three ODI bowlers to stay back after series
The A squad has already been getting some much-needed red-ball practice through the unofficial Tests, with KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal and Jasprit Bumrah emerging as sure-shot contenders for the playing eleven. However, with conditions expected to be challenging for the batters, Kotak also announced that three bowlers from the ODI squad would stay back and link up with the Test team to help the batters prepare.
“I think three bowlers,” Kotak said. “Gurnoor, maybe Nabi, and I think Arshdeep is also staying back.”
If finalised, Kotak and Morkel will be joined by Shubman Gill, Anshul Kamboj, Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj—all part of the ODI squad. If India seal the series on Tuesday, their absence may not be felt after all. As things stand, the two coaches are expected to leave for Wellington on November 11, a day after the third ODI. Gambhir and Bahutule, meanwhile, will travel on November 16, once the ODI series concludes.
The idea behind Kotak’s visit is to get in touch with the batters and discuss plans ahead of the all-important series. The focus will be on formulating different match scenarios, simulating them in practice and assessing how the players respond.
“I’m thinking in different phases,” he said. “If you lose the toss, if you bat first, there will be different requirements. If you bat second, it will be different. Third and fourth innings will be different. And in my mind, there is no doubt. If we play in India on turning tracks, there are phases. Here there are different challenges, but there are phases.
“So we’ll have to prepare like that, and depending on winning and losing the toss, depending on how wicket is behaving, depending on how weather is, and depending on how their bowlers are approaching, how big a spell they are bowling, I would do all those calculations, and then obviously it depends on the batters.
India have a few positives to fall back. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored back-to-back hundreds in Christchurch and Lincoln. Then again, a few puzzles need to fit. How will captain Shubman Gill respond? Or whether Rishabh Pant could be fit in time?
“How you talk to [Yashasvi] Jaiswal could be completely different to what you speak to KL, or Shubman, and then Rishabh [Pant]. So I personally feel that we have to see every individual’s strength, how they like to score runs, and in these conditions which shots will be possible and useful, and which things we can avoid. And then we can let them know that, and they can share what they think, because sometimes they also have ideas and it can be different from what we think,” added Kotak.
“So after all that, whatever everyone thinks is the best thing, and then end of the day I always believe they are professional, and whatever action they take, eventually, like it or not, they will be responsible.”