One of the challenges I overlooked is the playing of spin by Indian batters: Ryan ten Doeschate

Former Netherlands allrounder, Ryan ten Doeschate recently was appointed as India's new assistant coach, and his role is to help Indian batters get their dominance against spin. Despite the Men in Blue's historical command in handling spin, they have struggled especially in subcontinental conditions which the newly appointed coaching setup seems eager to address.

When ten Doeschate joined India's coaching staff, he didn't initially expect spin as a primary focus area. However, after India's recent struggles against spinners in Sri Lanka, where they lost 27 wickets to spinners in a three-match ODI series, the necessity became obvious. 

"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. The mindset of India has been such that they've been so desperate to do well overseas," Ten Doeschate told TalkSport Cricket.

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The focus has moved to doing well in Australia, England: Ryan ten Doeschate

The Dutchman now part of a coaching setup led by Gautam Gambhir and including Abhishek Nayar, is determined to reimpose India's confidence and capability against spin bowling. However, his approach was not centred on technical adjustments but rather on psychological and strategic preparation. 

"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. 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," he continued.

Ryan ten Doeschate and the Indian team have many challenges ahead, with a home season that includes five Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand, and the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

"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," he stated further.

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Ten Doeschate acknowledged the pressure, especially with a successful team that has recently won a T20 World Cup. However, he was seemingly excited about the opportunities that lie ahead, including the Champions Trophy and future tours to Australia and England.

"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," the 44-year-old continued

"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," Ten Doeschate concluded.