Former Netherlands national cricket team all-rounder and recently appointed assistant coach of the Indian national cricket team, Ryan ten Doeschate, has spoken openly about the struggles of Indian batsmen against spin bowling.
Ryan ten Doeschate was able to join the Indian coaching staff on the recommendation of head coach Gautam Gambhir. It is noteworthy that Doeschate and Gambhir played together for KKR between 2011 and 2015, when the latter was the franchise’s boss.
Gambhir also rates the former Dutch all-rounder highly and as part of the coaching staff, the duo lifted the 2024 Indian Premier League trophy, helping Kolkata Knight Riders clinch the title after a decade.
In a recent interaction, Doeschate spoke about the unexpected challenge he faces as India’s coach. Ryan ten Doeschate said that he did not expect to have to work on the Indian batsmen’s game against spin bowling as, in the past, they have been the most prolific bowlers of this variety of bowling.
Doeschate opined that the reason behind India’s problems is the shift in focus from achieving good results in foreign conditions.
“One of the challenges I didn’t expect and overlooked was the use of spin by the Indian batsmen. They blew us away in Sri Lanka,” ten Doeschate told TalkSport Cricket.
“India’s mindset has been such that they have been desperate to perform well overseas,” Ten Doeschate said. “The focus has shifted to performing well in Australia, England and the United States.” [so] “We have moved away from spin a bit, which has always been a strong point of the Indian team. That is something I hope I can help with, so that the Indians can become the best spin players in the world again.”
It is noteworthy that in the recent Sri Lanka ODI series, in which India lost 0-2, the Indian batsmen, including Virat Kohli, did not look very adept against the bowlers, and only Rohit Sharma was able to take on the bowlers with his attacking game. India lost as many as 27 wickets to the bowlers, which is a record in a three-match ODI series.
I don’t think a lot of what we’re going to bring to these guys is technical knowledge – Ryan ten Doeschate, member of Gautam Gambhir’s technical team
Ryan ten Doeschate also said that his role in the Indian team will be to mentally prepare the players to face certain situations and that he will not offer technical knowledge because the players already have it.
“I don’t think we’re going to bring a lot of technical knowledge to these guys,” he said. “It’s more about mentality, situational awareness, how we think they can control certain phases of the game.”
“[It’s about] “Expressing ideas, analyzing them and maintaining a good mental state. That will be very important.”
Ryan Ten Doeschate also expressed his excitement for India’s upcoming challenging matches.
“It’s exciting and a little bit overwhelming at the same time,” he said. “In terms of what we’re hoping for, qualifying for the WTC Final [next June is a goal]There is a huge opportunity with 10 tests remaining, five in India [over the next couple of months] and then go to Australia [for five more at the end of 2024] It’s going to be great.
“Then, in the medium term, there is the Champions Trophy. [in February 2025]”With just three ODIs left in the preparation phase, it will be a real challenge to change formats and prepare the team for that, which again is something they are desperate to win.”
