'There was no point being stubborn' – Sitanshu Kotak on India's mid-World Cup batting shake-up

Once known for marathon innings in his playing days, India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak now presides over the most explosive batting line-up. Under his guidance, India's top seven achieved a collective strike rate of 165.38 in the T20 World Cup, with Sanju Samson striking at 199.37.

"Our thinking was to go hard from ball one. Even if we lost a couple of wickets, we would not slow down. What we would do instead is, for the next six to eight balls, play shots with a lower risk percentage. So the idea was to keep attacking but sensibly," Kotak told Cricbuzz.

He explained the mid-tournament adjustment that brought Sanju Samson back into the lineup. "We realised that against off-spin we had three left-handers at the top because Tilak was batting at No. 3. But after a point there's no point being stubborn. We had four games where we lost a wicket in the first over, and that was the moment when we started thinking differently… it made us think that we had to utilise Sanju. Rinku was not getting many opportunities at No. 8. At the start we also needed to break that left-left-left combination. That is how Sanju came back into the picture."

On addressing Abhishek Sharma's form, Kotak said, "At one point I felt he was trying to hit the ball too hard. That is not really his strength. Players like Shivam and Hardik can muscle the ball out of the park. But Abhishek is more about timing… So we tried to make small adjustments. Gautam also suggested that he use the crease more – step outside the off stump so he is a little closer to the ball."

He detailed the team's PowerPlay philosophy: "If we did not lose more than two wickets in the PowerPlay, we would always go at over 10 runs an over from the start. The only real worry for us was what if we lost three or four wickets in three or four overs… if two wickets fell in very quick succession, we would ensure that the next six to eight balls were about batting sensibly and building a partnership again."

Kotak credited the team environment, saying, "A lot of credit goes to Surya for maintaining such a friendly and positive environment. Gautam was also absolutely brilliant. He never said anything that would put Abhishek under pressure, and he never put Sanju under pressure either."

On whether this high-risk approach will work in SENA countries, he said, "I believe that the high-risk, high-reward approach in T20 cricket will always work. The key is assessing the conditions properly. That is why the responsibility of the top two or three batsmen is very important. They go out first, assess how the pitch is playing, and then quickly pass the message back to the dressing room."

Kotak concluded by stating the Indian team's philosophy: "The Indian team believes in creating its own style rather than copying someone else's."

The full interview with Sitanshu Kotak will be published tomorrow.