India’s new batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has said that the vast experience of captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli is such that he himself might end up learning a thing or two from the veteran batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Sitanshu Kotak‘s appointment as India’s new batting coach came after a disastrous run for the team that ended in them missing out on the World Test Championship final and at the centre of it was the perennially out of batting lineup.
Following India’s home series whitewash on home soil to New Zealand followed by their away-series defeat to Australia in Tests, India’s batting has been a major concern for which Sitanshu Kotak has been appointed to rectify.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s current form and their performances in BGT 2024-25
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma tallied 93 and 91 runs, respectively, in the three Tests against New Zealand, which India lost 0-3 – their first whitewash on home soil after decades. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma faced plenty of flak for letting the Indian batting down, which crumbled against spin – losing nearly 40 wickets against Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips. Losing at home just before a series as high-profile against Australia is never good news.
Rohit Sharma managed to score just 91 runs in three matches in IND vs NZ series, scoring just one-half century in his last six innings. Virat Kohli, on the other hand, scored 93 runs in three Tests. The duo did not have a good series against Bangladesh either, forcing some critics to recommend that they return to the domestic circuit in order to prepare well for Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Virat Kohli, in particular, has no reason to worry as he enters a territory and faces a team against which he’s tasted plenty of success. In 13 Tests in Australia, Virat Kohli has amassed 1352 runs at an impressive average of 54.08. This includes the unforgettable 20-14/15 tour when Virat Kohli pummelled 697 runs with four centuries – twin hundreds in Adelaide.
Four years later, Virat Kohli led India to their maiden Test series win in Australia. In 2020-21, Virat Kohli had to leave the tour after the Adelaide Test due to the birth of his first child, all the more reason for him to be fiercely motivated and perform well.
In contrast, Rohit Sharma has an underwhelming record against the Aussies – just 708 runs from 12 Tests – but there is no better time to turn things around. Heading into BGT, India have two additional things to take care of – the fact that they are on the cusp of becoming the only team to register a hat-trick of series wins in Australia and that a place in the final of the World Test Championship is still up for grabs.
While India have constantly backed Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, they will feel that the time is running out quickly for them. Both the players haven’t enjoyed the greatest of times recently, especially in Test cricket.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had a poor home Test season which involved matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand. Virat Kohli scored 192 runs in five Tests at an average of 21.33 while Rohit scored just 133 runs in five Tests at an average of 13.10.
Virat Kohli recently slammed a brilliant hundred in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth. However, he failed again in both the innings of Adelaide. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma has played just one match in the ongoing series but looked awfully out of form.
India greats Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are going through a massive slump in Test cricket. Kohli did manage to score a hundred in the first Test against Australia in Perth, but he hasn’t matched the standards he set in the first half of his career for a very long time. For Rohit Sharma, the concerns are greater as the Indian captain has looked a pale shadow of his own. With so much talent waiting in the wing, questions are now being raised if the two veterans deserve a place in the team.
There are calls from a section of the cricket fraternity to move on from the Ro-Ko pair and promote the deserving next generation of Indian cricketers. Citing the examples of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, they want no special treatment to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, calling for performance to be the only criteria to play in team India.
India’s newly appointed batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak remains familiar with most of the faces around the Indian cricket team but remains eager to work with the senior star duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as the team builds up to the Champions Trophy 2025.
Team India’s new batting coach Sitanshu Kotak is willing to share batting inputs with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma
Team India’s new batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has asserted that he is open to giving his inputs to senior batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. He, however, admitted that the stalwarts need to be in the right frame of mind to receive advice.
In the wake of India’s disastrous batting performances in the three-match home series against New Zealand and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under, Sitanshu Kotak has been added to the team’s support staff. The ongoing T20I series against England is his maiden assignment. The 52-year-old will face a bigger challenge when he works with Rohit and Kohli during the subsequent ODI series.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the third India vs England T20, which will be played in Rajkot on Tuesday, January 28, Sitanshu Kotak shared his thoughts on how he would tackle the Rohit-Kohli situation. The 52-year-old said (as quoted by PTI):
“That is the way this game goes, you have to be open and you have to be ready to learn. If they are in a mindset, during that point of time, if they are ready to take any inputs, yes, I would have certain things in my mind and I will say it, but it has to be at the right time and they should feel that they are ready for that.”
Sitanshu Kotak, who has been part of the NCA and has worked with India A teams as well, added that he is looking to add some value to the team as the batting coach. The former Saurashtra batter elaborated:
“See, Rohit and Virat are very senior players, but even the players we have now, it is a lot more about sharing, a lot to try and understand how they are planning their game, where they think and then if we can add something. That is how I think.
“If I can add value to 2%, 5%, that is a great thing, because the amount of cricket they have played and the way they have performed, it would not be unfair to say. There might be a lot of things for me also to learn from them,” he added.
As a player, Sitanshu Kotak featured in 130 first-class matches, scoring 8,061 runs at an average of 41.76, with 15 hundreds and 55 fifties. He was also part of 89 List A games in which he scored 3,083 runs at an average of 42.23, with three hundreds and 26 half-centuries to his name.
Why the ODI series against England will be crucial for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli
Both Rohit and Kohli have been retained for the 2025 Champions Trophy. However, their form will be under the scanner in the preceding three-match one-day series against England at home. Rohit managed only 31 runs in five innings during the Test series in Australia. Kohli finished with190 runs, but 100 of those runs came in one innings in Perth.
Significantly, the two veteran cricketers played stellar roles in India’s 2023 World Cup campaign in which the Men in Blue finished runners-up. However, India played only three one-dayers in 2024, so the players might need some time to adjust to the format again.
Sitanshu Kotak begins his coaching stint with the national team in the ongoing T20I series against England, but he will be preparing himself for the upcoming three-match ODI series as well. Rohit’s form continues to be a concern as he had an uneventful outing during his Ranji Trophy return while Kohli will play his against Railways in the final round of group-stage fixtures.
It remains to be seen if both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s form can be overturned or whether this is the final stretch of their international careers. Both men would be keen on shutting down questions regarding their abilities in the way that they know best; scoring the big runs for the Men in Blue.