Team India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak breaks down his approach with the willow wielders who helped the Men in Blue achieve world champion status
Sitanshu Kotak
Whenever the Indian batters had a poor outing at the recently-concluded ICC T20 World Cup, it was batting coach Sitanshu Kotak who came under the scanner. While the world around him seemed worked up about the situation, Kotak was always calm, composed and gave honest answers. Not once did he lay blame on India’s batters, not even when India badly lost their only match against South Africa in Ahmedabad. And it is his reassurance and the team management’s continued faith in the Indian batting line-up — persisting with players even when the world around demanded that some be axed — that eventually led to a record third T20 World Cup title and first ever on home turf.
Kotak tells mid-day how he dealt with Team India’s batting brigade.
Abhishek Sharma. Pics/Getty Images, AFP, PTI
On Abhishek Sharma…
Abhishek Sharma was our biggest concern. He was in blistering form coming into this World Cup, and understandably, there were high expectations from him. Based on his pre-tournament form, everyone expected India to get past the 200-run mark in every match, but what ultimately happens on the ground is not in anyone’s hands. Call it destiny or sheer bad luck, but Abhishek was bogged down by a poor run. We continued to have faith in him, which he repaid with that fine innings (21-ball 52) in the final. We had to, of course, sort out some of his technical flaws and suggested to him not to hit the ball at the outset, but to be judicious and depend on timing the ball. That’s what he did in the final and came good. If he had learnt the lesson earlier, he would have had a few more big innings.
Sanju Samson
On Sanju Samson…
I had some long chats with Sanju [when he was out of the team initially]. I told him to be ready as someone could get injured or run out of form. He was always kept ready to step in by giving him long stints in the nets. We always knew that he had the potential, and we also knew that one good innings would change things for him. And that’s exactly what happened. Once Sanju got that solid knock against the West Indies (50-ball 97 not out) in Kolkata, there was no stopping him. He richly deserves that Player of the Tournament award.
Tilak Varma
On Tilak Varma…
We knew Tilak could bat anywhere and could play big shots. So we decided to use him lower down the order. It worked out well as the team management wanted to spread out its left-handed batters rather than have them clustered at the top. Tilak’s cameos down the order came in handy.
Shivam Dube
On Shivam Dube…
Everyone knows how powerful a hitter Shivam is. We are lucky to have such a striker in our line-up who, in a matter of a few balls, can change the momentum of any match. He performed that role very well and particularly in that final encounter against New Zealand (eight-ball 26 not out).
Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya
On senior batters Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya…
Ishan, Surya, and Hardik are all extremely experienced campaigners. Each of them knows their specific role very well. Backed by the immense talent they possess, Ishan, Surya and Hardik are a huge asset to this Indian team. Sometimes they come good, sometimes they don’t, but then cricket is a team game. So, the plan always was that if any particular batter fails, another batter takes over the responsibility. That has been the strength of this Indian team, and this teamwork and collective performance is the reason that has helped us clinch this historic T20 World Cup title on home soil.
256-4
No. of runs scored by India in the Super Eights against Zimbabwe — the most by any team in T20 World Cup in 18 years after Sri Lanka’s 260-6 against Kenya in 2007
Three
No. of 250-plus totals for Team India in the 2026 T20 World Cup — the most by any team in a single edition
106
Total number of sixes smashed by India in the just-concluded T20 World Cup — the first team to cross the 100 mark in a single edition
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