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3 Reasons Why India Urgently Need To Hire A Batting Coach Before Border-Gavaskar Trophy

India Defeat vs NZ- (Source: @Johns/X.com)India Defeat vs NZ- (Source: @Johns/X.com)

On Sunday, November 3, India suffered their first-ever whitewash at home after New Zealand beat the hosts by 25 runs to win the series 3-0.

Following the defeat, India skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir are under the scanner and facing heavy criticism as India have dropped to 2nd position in the WTC standings.

The recently concluded series against New Zealand exposed the faults in the batting units and how their wrong technique and poor shot selection have forced the fans to miss a batting coach in the team.

Notably, India have Abhishek Nayar, who is the assistant coach and is assumed to guide the batters alongside Gambhir, but India lack a proper batting coach. Hence, this article will shed light on why India require a batting coach. 

1. Wrong Template In Test Cricket

The idea of showing intent is a collective decision taken by the team management, but a batting coach is responsible for guiding and train players to play according to the situation despite showing aggression. 

Temperament is one thing that a player usually forgets while playing a certain way. Currently, India has expressed that they will attack irrespective of their opposition, but lacking a player who can play according to the situation.

Looking at the recently concluded series, India have failed to put on a big score with the bat as they are implying the T20I template of small cameos from each player to put a big total. 

However, the Test is different, and players need to show temperament. A team should have had a player like Cheteshwar Pujara, who would have put a heavy price on his wicket even on a challenging pitch like Wankhede. 

Notably, India failed to chase 147 runs as all batters failed to read spin. Just attack and attack is not the solution to a run chase. A batting coach would have guided the players to play sensibly.

2. Poor Shot Selection

Indian players are known to be masters of spin, which is why the history boasts of a successful home Test record for India. However, the current set of players seem to be struggling against spin and are getting out on the wrong shots. 

In the recently concluded series, the players either were trapped in front of wickets while going towards the backfoot or caught at the slip or short-leg while defending a ball on the front foot. 

Thus, a batting coach is required to re-guide the player as to when to play on the front foot and when to rely on their back foot. Further, the Indian players need to use their feet, which is lacking in the New Zealand series. 

3. Fixate A Batting Order

Batting order is a crucial element of any team. A batter gets a security and added confidence when they know at what order they need to bat. However, under Gambhir, the batting order has gone for a toss. 

Even in the recently concluded New Zealand, series players came at different batting orders, which did not reap any result. For example, R Ashwin came to bat at No.10 for the first time in his Test career. Thus, a batting coach is required to fix all these things.