Intro
India to persist with aggressive approach despite recent batting stumbles
Ahmedabad
India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has made it clear that the defending champions will not deviate from their aggressive blueprint in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, despite a few stop-start performances in the league stage.
India have experienced brief collapses in multiple matches. Against the USA in Mumbai, they slipped from 45/2 to 77/6. In Delhi versus Namibia, a strong platform of 205/5 turned into 205/9 in the death overs. Even in the high-voltage clash against Pakistan in Colombo, momentum dipped after Ishan Kishan’s dismissal, with Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya falling in quick succession.
However, Kotak backed the batters to stay fearless ahead of their final league fixture against the Netherlands at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
“Playing aggressive cricket is important. But because of a couple of failures, plans won’t change. Plans change according to the situation,” Kotak said. “It doesn’t matter whether someone has scored runs in the last two innings or not. What the team needs in those conditions is more important.”
He cited skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s measured knock against the USA as an example of situational awareness within an attacking framework. Kotak also defended Tilak Varma, who managed 25 off 24 balls against Pakistan, stating that the left-hander executed the team’s plan to consolidate after an early wicket.
“Sometimes if a couple of boundaries don’t come, people see it differently. But we were focused on partnerships,” he said.
Looking ahead, Kotak stressed that India will not treat the Netherlands clash lightly, especially with a crucial game against South Africa and potentially the final scheduled in Ahmedabad. “Momentum is important. We will play with the same intent,” he added.
