Sitanshu Kotak set to join India team as batting coach ahead of England T20Is

Former Saurashtra captain and batter Sitanshu Kotak is set to join the India men's set-up as batting coach. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Kotak, who is 52, will start with the five-match home T20I series against England which starts from January 22.

Kotak, who retired in 2013 after a first-class career spanning more than 20 years, has been the batting coach at the National Cricket Academy since 2019. Kotak also was the head coach of several India A tours and served as assistant coach to VVS Laxman when the latter helmed India's white-ball bilateral engagements as head coach in the last few years.

Kotak will be the fifth assistant on the coaching staff which is led by Gautam Gambhir, who took charge as the all-format head coach last August. At the time Gambhir brought in three assistant coaches: former South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel (bowling coach), along with former India and Mumbai allrounder Abhishek Nayar and former Netherlands and Essex captain Ryan ten Doeschate as assistant coaches. T Dilip, who was the fielding coach during Rahul Dravid's tenure, was retained.

The development comes soon after the BCCI conducted a review meeting in Mumbai last weekend to assess India's disastrous run of series defeats starting with the white-ball loss in Sri Lanka, followed by an unprecedented 3-0 defeat in the Test series against New Zealand at home and then the 3-1 loss to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The India batters' plummeting form - and subsequent failures - was the key reason behind those defeats, and played a big role in the Test side missing out on a World Test Championship final berth. It is understood that batting was among the significant points discussed during the review meeting which included Gambhir, selection committee head Ajit Agarkar and many from BCCI's top brass, including newly-appointed board secretary Devajit Saikia.