Ahmedabad, February 23 – The Indian team management may drop at least one of the three underperforming batters and reconsider its strategy of relying heavily on left-handed batsmen in the top order, according to head coach Gautam Gambhir's assistants, Ryan Ten Doeschate and Sitanshu Kotak.
South Africa defeated India by 76 runs in a Super Eight clash on Sunday, and with two crucial matches remaining, the team management may need to re-evaluate the performances of Abhishek Sharma (15 runs in four games) and Tilak Varma (107 runs in five games with a strike rate of 118).
Notably, finisher Rinku Singh's aggregate of 24 runs in 29 balls at a disastrous strike rate of 82.75 is a cause for concern.
"If the head coach and team management feel that we need to change our approach, then we will," said batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, acknowledging the team's current situation.
"We now need to decide whether to stick with the current combination or make changes," Kotak stated matter-of-factly.
Ten Doeschate added that the squad lacks specialist backup batters, and Sanju Samson, despite his poor form, might be considered.
"We could bring in a right-handed batsman to break the monotony," Ten Doeschate suggested.
"We could stick with the players who have performed well over the past 18 months, or we could bring in Sanju, who is also a fantastic player and would help tactically by adding a right-handed batsman to the top order," Ten Doeschate echoed Kotak's sentiments.
Ten Doeschate believes that Rinku, who has been batting at Nos. 7 or 8, hasn't been effective, as these positions have been particularly challenging in T20 cricket.
"Rinku's batting at Nos. 7 or 8 has been difficult. He has had to turn down singles three or four times against Namibia, so he has scored only two or eight runs," Ten Doeschate explained.
"And even tonight, he's in a difficult situation, and he's trying to score boundaries to get us as close as possible. But on a wicket that's slightly difficult, that can happen. So he hasn't had the best opportunities, but that's the nature of the position," Ten Doeschate added.
"Now, it's time to focus on performance. We need to get the best out of all the players, and that's the challenge for the coaching staff and the players to regroup and put in a strong effort before the next match against Zimbabwe," Ten Doeschate concluded.
The former KKR all-rounder also expressed concern about Abhishek and Tilak's form.
"I won't make excuses for Abhi or Tilak, but I think Abhi's preparation for the World Cup, which was affected by food poisoning, has hampered his progress," Kotak said.
"You want him to be confident and focused on his game plan, but scoring three ducks can have a negative impact. However, we saw some good signs from him on Friday night in the nets, and our job as the coaching staff is to help him get back on track," Kotak added.
Ten Doeschate's colleague Kotak believes that giving Abhishek advice won't be effective due to the short turnaround time between games.
"As a batting coach, my advice is to simplify Abhishek's approach," Kotak said. "For any player, a period of underperformance followed by suggestions from five people might not be helpful," he added.
"You can't change much in the next two days. If you try, it might create more self-doubt. That's my coaching philosophy. If you have 15 days to work on a flaw, it can be sorted, but not in just two days. Right now, he needs to focus on watching the ball and planning his innings better," Kotak concluded.