Indian batters' desperation to do well overseas has affected their game against spin: Ryan ten Doeschate

India’s new assistant coach, Ryan ten Doeschate, said the current Indian batters are so “desperate” to do well in overseas conditions that their game against spin has fallen back a little bit. The Men in Blue recently lost an ODI series in Sri Lanka, losing 27 wickets to spin in three encounters, a record number of wickets lost to spin in a series. 

"One of the challenges I wasn't expecting and I kind of overlooked is the playing of spin by Indian batters. We got undone in Sri Lanka,” ten Doeschate told TalkSport Cricket.

"The mindset of India has been such that they've been so desperate to do well overseas. The focus has moved to doing well in Australia, England (so) that we've kind of let playing spin, which was always a strength of the Indian team, fall back a little bit. 

“That's one thing I'm looking forward to helping with, getting to that position where Indians are the best players of spin in the world again."

India’s new head coach, Gautam Gambhir, brought in ten Doeschate as one of the two assistant coaches alongside Abhishek Nayar. The former Netherlands all-rounder said he wouldn’t get too technical with the players and would rather focus on the mental aspects.

“I don't think much of what we're going to bring is technical knowledge to these guys. It's more about mindsets, situational awareness, how we think they can control certain phases of the game. (It's about) throwing ideas out there, de-briefing and keeping the mental space really good. That's going to be really important."

Talking more about his role, the 44-year-old said: "It's exciting and kind of daunting at the same time. In terms of what we're looking forward to, qualifying for the WTC final (next June is a goal). There's a great opportunity with 10 Tests left, five in India (over the next couple of months) and then going to Australia (for five more at the end of 2024) is going to be great.

"Then in the medium term there's the Champions Trophy (in February 2025). With only three ODIs left in the prep phase, it's going to be really challenging to switch between the formats and get the team ready for that, which again is something they're desperate to win.

"Then in the next (WTC) cycle, the tour to England (summer of 2025) is going to be fantastic and then prepping the team for the (2026) T20 World Cup. In terms of timing, it's quite difficult to walk into a team that's just come back with the (2024 T20) World Cup, but in terms of what's ahead for the next 18 months, it's mouth-watering as a coach. 

"It's all the series you want to be involved in and all the challenges you want to come up against."

India’s next assignment is a two-match home Test series against Bangladesh, starting on September 19 in Chennai. That will be followed by a three-match T20I series.

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