India’s coaching staff is set to split into two groups after the third ODI against New Zealand in Hamilton on Tuesday, with head coach Gautam Gambhir staying with the one-day squad while batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and fast-bowling coach Morne Morkel move to Wellington to prepare the Test side.
Kotak outlined the likely plan at a press conference in Hamilton on Monday, while stressing that the arrangements are yet to be finalised and that Gambhir will take the final call. “[The plan] can still change, but as far as I know, obviously Gautam will have to be here — the one-day World Cup is coming [in 2027], so he will be staying here, and probably Sairaj will stay here,” Kotak said. “Me, Morne and some other staff will go to Wellington. That’s the plan, but like I said, Gautam will make the final decision. It can change, but this is how it will likely be.”
Under the plan, Gambhir and spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule will travel to Mount Maunganui with the ODI squad for the fourth and fifth matches on November 13 and 15, while Kotak and Morkel will join the Test squad for a preparatory camp in Wellington beginning on November 11, giving the players five to six practice sessions before the first Test starts on November 19.
Five Test players will leave the ODI squad after the Hamilton match: captain Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Anshul Kamboj, Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav, who will travel to Wellington on November 11. Shreyas Iyer will captain the side for the final two ODIs. Three fast bowlers from the ODI squad — Gurnoor Brar, Auqib Nabi and Arshdeep Singh — will stay back in New Zealand as net bowlers and reserve options for the Test group, travelling to Wellington with Gambhir and Bahutule on November 16, the day after the fifth ODI.
The split reflects a compressed schedule: the fifth ODI is on November 15 and the first Test begins just four days later, leaving no time for the red-ball group to reset after the white-ball series. Kotak added that India’s ODI batters would not bring Test-match adjustments into their white-ball cricket, and that the challenging pitches in the ODI series — India lead 2-0 after bowling New Zealand out for 185 and 134 — would serve as useful preparation for the Tests. The three India A matches, he said, had helped the red-ball players understand conditions, lengths and the behaviour of the ball. The first Test begins at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on November 19, with the second at Hagley Oval in Christchurch from November 27.
Related:
- India Eye Series Win in Hamilton as Siraj Waits in the Wings for Third ODI Against New Zealand — https://t20star.com/india-eye-series-win-in-hamilton-as-siraj-waits-in-the-wings-for-third-odi-against-new-zealand/
- India Edge New Zealand by Four Runs on DLS After Rain Ends Wellington ODI — https://t20star.com/india-edge-new-zealand-by-four-runs-on-dls-after-rain-ends-wellington-odi/
