India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak dismissed rumours of miscommunication between the team management and stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, besides stressing that they are communicating with them on a regular basis. “They discuss with Gautam (Gambhir) about ODI formats, about the matches we have, and our plans going (ahead) to South Africa (World Cup in 2027),” he said.
“Most of the time I’m there and if I’m listening. They definitely share the experience and I always see them talking. Obviously, in social media, you see a lot of things which I try to avoid seeing,” he quipped.
Rumours of indifference had been floating around since Rohit and Kohli retired from Tests as well as Shubman Gill displacing Rohit as the ODI skipper. The board, according to reports, summoned a meeting to fix communication issues between senior players and selectors during the South Africa series. But Kotak stressed that the senior players and the team management are on the same page.
“They are thorough professionals. So I don’t think they need to be saying they need to do this or that. In fact, the amount of experience they have, they can share a lot of ideas with other players and they do discuss,” he said.
He said that they have both discussed their future with Gambhir. “See, both of them are so senior and so experienced. They definitely make plans. They want to practice at all the venues. If they feel they need to, they’ll go a couple of days in advance. They practice because they both also have been such outstanding players for India. Planning-wise and all, they are brilliant. They know what they need to do. They know what their body needs, not only batting, even fitness, whatever requirements they have,” he says without taking a pause.
The team management has not communicated openly about the duo’s future. The selection committee is not jumping the gun either. The pair, though, has been in exceptional form. Since the South Africa series, Kohli has cracked two hundreds and three fifty-plus scores (twice unbeaten). He has an immense record on this ground (226 runs at an average of 56.50 in four games). He has batted with a free-spirit, enjoying every run he is scoring. Big scores have eluded a considerably toned Rohit but he has looked in delightful nick too.
Reddy in XI
Meanwhile, the Indian team management might look at Nitish Reddy as a replacement for injured Washington Sundar, who was ruled out due to a rib injury during the first ODI in Vadodara. He is even more a likely candidate to replace him because they clearly want someone who could chip in with some overs, apart from the specialist bowlers, especially on a high-scoring ground like the SCA Stadium in Rajkot.