India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Friday returned to the country after mother Seema Gambhir had to be hospitalized due to health emergency.
Sitanshu Kotak did not rule out India spearhead Jasprit Bumrah's participation in the must-win fifth and final Test against England.
In the team's first session ahead of the third Test, Bumrah seemed to be good spirits, constantly chatting with fellow teammates and at times with the travelling Indian media.
The 36-year-old all-rounder once again rose to the occasion, batting with remarkable patience, steel and a fierce will to fight. Partnering first with Jasprit Bumrah and then Mohammed Siraj, Jadeja weathered thunderbolts and mind games. His 61 not out off 181 balls, spread over nearly five hours, brought India within 22 agonising runs of victory.
'Will any coach think of keeping out Rohit and Kohli from the ODI team? That means there is something going on within the team against the two players.' Manoj Tiwary, who played 12 ODIs and three T20Is for India, said iconic players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli deserve greater respect.
'I've never seen anything like it in my life.'
India captain Shubman Gill threw his weight behind Gautam Gambhir following the latter's fiery exchange with The Oval's chief curator Lee Fortis, firmly asserting that the India coach was well within his rights to inspect the square.
The 24-year-old Jurel stepped in as keeper twice during the series - once after Pant took a blow to his finger in the third Test at Lord's, and again in the Manchester Test when Pant sustained a foot injury that ruled him out.
India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak explained the team's rationale behind playing an all-rounder at No 8 rather than fielding a specialist bowler.
Former wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel on Wednesday said India head coach Gautam Gambhir "had all the right of just losing it" following a fiery confrontation with Lee Fortis, Surrey's head of ground staff at The Oval.
Praising the Indian batters, Kotak highlighted that apart from X-factor players like Rishabh Pant, they have batted responsibly yet managed to score four runs per over.
The tourists have hosted a training camp at the South East London venue in Beckenham as they solidify their preparations for the first bilateral Test series without batting bigwigs Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma
Injured wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will bat on day five of the fourth Test, said India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak on Saturday.
Sitanshu Kotak, 52, is a longtime staff of the National Cricket Academy as its batting coach
India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak is expecting the pitch for the Lord's Test to be much more challenging for the batters
The usually mobbed Indian cricket team likes training in a relaxed atmosphere and that was evident in their body language as the players went about their business in their only practice session at the Kent County Cricket Ground before the fourth Test in Manchester.
'If you don't play well, then you can't complain. And if you play well, there is no point in saying whether you got an advantage or not.'
While the young Indian team showed great resolve to earn a creditable draw in England, the series exposed several weaknesses that need urgent attention.
With India conceding more than 600 runs for the first time since 2014, the case for including a wicket-taking spinner like Kuldeep Yadav is stronger than ever for the must-win fifth and final Test against England.
India and England players will push their tired bodies on the line with everything to play for in the fifth and final Test starting at The Oval on Thursday
Former captain Sourav Ganguly on Thursday said India may have missed a trick by not playing Kuldeep Yadav at Lord's and Manchester, as quality spinners come to the fore on the last two days of a Test match.
The altercation between head coach Gautam Gambhir and Oval's chief curator Lee Fortis happened after the visitors were asked to stand "2.5 metres from the wicket."
Conceding that India could not get the first innings score they were looking in the first Test against England, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak felt Rishabh Pant's stroke-filled 134 was different from his usual aggressive knock.
'That is the way this game goes, you have to be open and you have to be ready to learn.'
When a few fans called out his name, he instructed the security team to let them approach.
Led by Shubman Gill, a defiant India put on a mentally strong and technically disciplined response to keep the series alive with England 2-1 up. While there were plenty of positives to take forward, a few concerns continue to linger as the series heads to a decider at The Oval.
With the pitch at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS) expected to offer some grip to the spinners, the Indian batters did not want to leave anything to the chance.
Kotak highlighted the flexibility of Rahul, who came almost an hour early to the scheduled net session.
The BCCI's Centre of Excellence (COE) in India is expected to witness a few changes in staff composition in the coming months following the resignation of Nitin Patel, head of Sports Science and Medical Team, after a successful stint of nearly three years.
The 34-year-old not being picked for the first two T20s raised questions over his fitness but Kotak said the veteran pacer has no issues on that front.
The Indian cricket team's assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has been sacked just eight months
Samson had new batting batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and throwdown specialists for company.
This was India's seventh defeat in their last nine matches as their poor run in Test cricket continues following successive series defeats against New Zealand at home and in Australia.
"When a captain or a coach says something like this, obviously there is a bit of confidence and you've to back yourself up.'
It may be hosting an ODI for the first time since December 22, 2019, but Cuttack has always served up belters and it may be no different this time.
Virat Kohli fit to play 2nd ODI.
The young team, led by Jasprit Bumrah, wasted no time in kickstarting their preparations as they assembled for the nets a few hours after landing.
Sanju Samson's technical weaknesses against express pace along with Rinku Singh's dip in form and fitness issues will be a concern for India
On NCA Batting Coach Sitanshu Kotak's birthday, the 25 year old celebrated and expressed gratitude for Kotak's support during his recovery journey.
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