Sitanshu Kotak set to be appointed as India coach for Australia tour

National Cricket Academy (NCA) coach Sitanshu Kotak is all set to travel with the India A team as head coach for the upcoming tour games in Australia.

As per the reports in the Times of India, it is learned that he will be accompanying the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side for all the games.

India A to be coached by Sitanshu Kotak

Sitanshu Kotak has been one of the best coaches in Indian cricket. He has often been with the A teams and has also been coaching the Indian team as well when the main coaching staff has been rested. He was also part of the team in the recently concluded Zimbabwe tour.

The A team led by Ruturaj Gaikwad is all set to travel to Australia for the two games against the A team of the hosts. The first match between the teams will be played at GBRA, Mackay, from October 31 and then the action moves to the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for the second game on November 7.

Following this, the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led team will be playing the practice match against the Indian team at WACA, Perth. The Rohit Sharma-led side is expected to leave for Australia after India A's second game against Australia A at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Ruturaj Gaikwad & Co. team will be assembling in Mumbai today

As per the reports, it is learned that the A team will be assembling in Mumbai today, and they will be together leaving for Australia from there. The team would be confident going into the tour as some of the consistent performers in the domestic circuit have been included in the team.

The tour will be important for all the players, and they would be keen to make an impact on the team. The players will be on the radar of the selectors as in case of injury to main players, they can turn into the replacements for the team, especially with them having strong domestic performance under their belt.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Abhimanyu Easwaran are in contention to be the reserve opening batter spot

Ruturaj Gaikwad will be captaining the team while Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has not put a foot wrong in the domestic circuit and has slammed truckloads of runs, is the vice-captain. He also could be part of the main squad as a reserve opening batter to Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Sai Sudharsan is also there in the team. He recently slammed a double hundred against Delhi in the Ranji Trophy. The middle order for the team includes Devdutt Padikkal and Baba Indrajith, along with Ishan Kishan, who is finally back in A setup after being under the radar.

In the pace bowling department, Khaleel Ahmed and Yash Dayal are in the mix. The reports claimed that selectors are keen to have a left-arm seamer in the main squad, and one among them might be part of the main team that plays five Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.