Sitanshu Kotak Interview: 'Gujarat Lions has given me an opportunity and I am looking forward to work with Brad Hodge and Heath Streak'

A left-hand batsman, Sitanshu Kotak is among the top ten Ranji Trophy overall run-getters. He scored 8061 runs in first-class cricket from 130 matches at an average of 41.76 while playing for Saurashtra. Despite not getting an India cap in his career, Kotak continued to play the game with determination and helped Saurashtra win many a matches and after his retirement in 2013, he became the head coach of his team Saurashtra. As a coach he has impressed one and all and under him the Saurashtra team has managed to reach to the finals of this season’s Ranji Trophy. He has also been appointed as the assistant coach of Gujarat Lions recently. CricTracker author Umang Pabari caught with Sitanshu Kotak earlier today at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot ahead of Ranji Trophy final match against Mumbai.

Tell us about your transition from a Saurashtra player to now coach of the team?

Sitanshu: I think lot of people talk about rest after retiring and then start coaching after a year or two but I think when you are playing and when you are aware of your team’s strength and weakness so it is much better to start coaching the same team that you have been a part of after retiring. But if you skip a year or two after retirement then you have to be in touch with the game and keep learning. I thought the other way to start coaching after the retirement straight away because I was aware of all the players. I could share all the things that I have seen over the years playing alongside them in a frank manner by as the coach so one thing I knew that I have to stop playing cricket not for a bad reason but for a good reason so those two things are mainly I think is important when you stop playing cricket for a team and start coaching for the same team so you have to keep a little distance but otherwise I think if you see now-a-days players who have retired for Australia, also started coaching Australian young players so I think it is a very good thing and I do believe that people who have played so much cricket at this level, they should share their experience and it helps younger players and that’s what I am doing for my team Saurashtra and I am very happy in doing that and enjoying myself.

What is your idea of coaching?

Sitanshu: I am basically very flexible to be honest with my boys, I notice mainly all the things, I think I look after everything I can for most of the players when they are playing a match or doing net practice and I have always given flexibility to my players that if someone has done his batting practice and then he wants to go to gym then he can go or someone wants throw down then I give that so in a way I think I always remain more practical and it is better actually in any type of cricket and they need rest and I understand that and I give enough time to them for what they want to do so that they can bring more energy on the ground when they are on the field but many coaches want discipline and other strict things like this much time you need to bat and then gym but I don’t believe that way I give space to them as long as they are preforming well along with that I try to bring variety of net bowlers for them and there is no hard and fast rule for any of them out of 16 and as I said so that they can bring more energy when they are on the field.

Recently Dilip Vengsarkar said that coaches miss out on spotting natural talent these days, what’s your view on this?

Sitanshu: Yes, I also think people do miss out on spotting natural talent these days but I personally go with my instincts because of the cricket I played when I see somebody playing Under-19, Under-23 and any cricketer who has been around in domestic circuit for 20 years or so then he has that foresight to spot the talent but for me then sometimes I would like to see what is the weakness of my team and what sorts of players I need in my team and when any player gets injured then what sorts of combination I need to build a good team and for that I always peak the players whom I need to build a good team because it is not always about certain players because cricket is a team game and if you see this time around I picked fast bowlers like Shaurya Sanadiya, Hardik Rathod to train them because I need those players when someone gets injured and whether they are playing in the eleven or not it is not always necessary and you can see Shaurya has done well this season because same Sanadiya you see last year he did not play many games but he was there with us and when I pick Hardik as a backup fast bowler then people would think that why you need an extra fast bowler and he did not play early six or seven games for us but see when Shaurya was injured before our quarter-final match and then Hardik came in as a replacement of him and bowled well in quarter and semi-final and picked up seven or eight wickets in both the games so I think that planning is very much important.

Ravindra Jadeja worked with you while he was dropped from the team recently and he made a remarkable comeback into the Indian team. What were the aspects you helped him iron out?

Sitanshu: See, you don’t need to discuss many things with player like Ravindra Jadeja and I have played with him and I know him and he has been playing international cricket from sometime now and so he has interacted with certain level of coaches about his game so for me it is more of sharing thought with him and trying to know how he is feeling about his game at that point of time and he is a very agile and clever cricketer and I knew him since his debut in Ranji Trophy so I don’t need to talk with him in depth about his game because he always believed that if he plays well then he will be picked and if he does not perform then he will not be picked but in I talked with him about his batting in certain things like mindset and lot of other things and in bowling I have told him about varying his pace more often than not and I knew he was with us for three or four games and I told to him that also after being dropped from the team and he performed well and you can see the results and improvements in his batting and bowling against South Africa and he believes that whatever he does for his country he has to give his 100 percent and he gives whenever you see him on the field with bat or ball or say when he is fielding. Players like Pujara and Jadeja when they are with the Saurashtra team then they put equal effort as they put when they are playing for India and it is a very good thing actually and that is why they are such good cricketers.

How do you sum up this three tournaments Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Saurashtra?

Sitanshu: Definitely for Ranji Trophy I would like to say that we have done well over the years but it was in last year when we have not performed well because it was a re-build phase of our team but in this season we have done well with some players available for us in some important games and the players who we have picked by us also played well but we have not performed that badly in shorter formats of the game compared to previous years in this year because we have won three T20 games out of four and won three games out of five games in Vijay Hazare Trophy and we have missed by one game in both the tournaments to qualify for the next round but it is a very encouraging site for our team and definitely I think we need to improve in shorter versions of the games and it is a big concern for me and all other coaches as well and for that this time around we have selected more all-rounders in our team like Deepak Punia  but overall we need to improve in our bowling, batting, fielding and team setup or convert more bowlers into decent batters who can do the job for us whenever we need them in pressure situations to do well in shorter versions of the game. But if you see overall scenario then this time around we got better results compared to previous years and we would like to further improve our performance as much as we can in upcoming years in all the departments and in all the formats of the game.

There was a lot of talk about the SCA pitch especially this season. Do you think it played a role in the team’s performance?

Sitanshu: I think every team plays to their strength at home and we played on turning track and some people may think why the game had completed in two or in two and half days but you have to look at players skills and caliber also because for me those games should have been completed in three or three in half days but like if you see in one day against Jharkhand, it was 370 runs scored and both team were out now how much you can blame the wicket and how much you can blame the players mentality for players aggression to that extent so I would to like say that it is common now-a-days to comment on something without watching a game and blame the pitch but I think if there is a total of 300 runs scored by both the teams in a day and it is same like when India played on turning track against South Africa but overseas teams are good on green wicket but when we go out then they give us green and bouncy wickets, not turning wickets and when you go to England do you ever accept turning wicket so why not turning wickets when they come here and only think I need to tell you is that before three or four years ago we (Saurashtra) don’t have good fast bowlers but now when we play here at SCA, we keep them intact and then we go away from home, we use them and in this year if you see we won four games outside our home turf and that is again a very big achievement for us because we have never won four outside games in Ranji Trophy in last few seasons and that is a very encouraging sight for us but as far as the wicket is concerned every team must prepare their home wicket as per their strength that’s what I believe.

From the current Saurashtra team, who are the players that you feel have that in them to represent India in near future?

Sitanshu: I think there are many players like Jadeja made a comeback, Jaydev Unadkat will also make a comeback sooner or later and Sheldon Jackson is also playing well and has been part of India-A setup and selectors will keep an eye on his performance and I think there is one guy named Samarth Vyas is also doing well and has good abilities of hitting the ball but he is still young and if he will perform continuously well then he will also get a chance but overall I think I believe in process and sometimes you are doing well but there is no place for you in the team and then you will not get a call but sometimes you are performing above average and there is a place for you in the team because it is a team game as I said earlier so it is important for any individual player to keep working hard.

Combing back to your playing days…

You have said in one of your interview that you felt bad when you were not getting the national call, so what was it that kept you inspired to keep coming back and doing well?

Sitanshu: Like I said, it depends on team combination and may be couple of times I felt bad but what kept me going is that I wanted to do well for Saurashtra and win games and that sort of mentality I always had and it kept me motivating and after certain age you know that you will not play at higher level and if there is nothing forward then you will go downhill but to win the games for Saurashtra every time that help to perform consistently.

I remembered your 796 minutes innings while batting against Mumbai in a Ranji match for Saurashtra. Talk us through that marathon knock.

Sitanshu: Basically in that game my goal is to make a draw so that we can qualify for the finals and on that seeming track I batted for four or five hours and my idea was to keep them out of the game and after those hours, Mumbai bowlers were tired and I managed to play a good knock for my team and it was memorable.

You have played alongside Cheteshwar Pujara and now coach him inthe team,tell us about his desire to better himself every time he walks out.

Sitanshu: Pujara is very good and disciplined cricketer. He is a thinking cricketer and he takes things seriously whichever format he is playing and there are very few cricketers you will find like him now-a-days because he will not let go a single thing when it comes to cricket and if decides that I want to bat in nets for 10 to 1 then he will bat so he is a very hard-working cricketer and he always wants to perform better for his team.

Q A technical flaw that is concerning in Pujara’s batting is the gap between his bat and the pad and that has seen him get bowled significant number of times. What do you think is he doing wrong? Have you guys been working on clearing that block out?

Sitanshu: Yeah we know that but I don’t always talk with him about that because at that same time we know also that every player has his strengths and weaknesses, even Tendulkar has weakness so do I and Pujara but it is all about how you manage your weaker area and the bigger the player the more he knows how to manage his weaker areas.

Do you think he has the game to succeed in limited overs formats at the international level as well? What is it that is preventing him from doing well in the shorter versions? Is it the mindset or a limitation of his game?

Sitanshu: I think he can succeed in shorter versions and he is a good batsman of ODIs and sometimes he does not want to get out so he would not take that much risk like other players but he has performed well in this year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but it is upto people like his image in people’s mind but for me he can play all formats of the game and I don’t think he has any limitations but if anything then may be it is his mindset and he does not need to worry about his wicket in T20 cricket to get success and probably he will do better in upcoming days in all formats of the game.

Jaydev Unadkat has been sensational in the later part of the Ranji Trophy. What is it that he has changed?

Sitanshu: After last year’s injury, when he came back into the team, he worked hard on his fitness and worked hard on his bowling especially pace and line and length and you saw he won us last two games on his own and also he has worked hard on his batting and fielding and I see no reason why he cannot make comeback into the Indian team in near future.

How do you pep up the boys when the odds are against them?

Sitanshu: Generally, I don’t say many things to them because they are very professionals and they know winning and losing is a part and parcel of the game and when somebody is not scoring runs and trying hard to get runs then we back him so overall what we believe is thatwe don’t need to create a scenario when we are losing games because it is a part of the game like I said.

Now you are also the assistant coach of Gujarat Lions.What do you think are the challenges that await you working with the IPL debutants?

Sitanshu: I don’t think there are many specific challenges for me but I will get experience of working with Brad Hodge and Heath Streak and to me I will help every player and I am firm believer that you are learning every day and you have to try and learn from small and big players and I will try and share my experience what I know and will try to learn from others because it is my first IPL season as a coach. I think we have some very good foreign players and good all-rounders and I am eager to work with them at the same time and Gujarat Lions is a strong unit and another thing you know that coaching is a hard job but at the same time I am very happy that I got an opportunity to work in the IPL and looking forward to that.

Do you think your team can beat Mumbai in the final?

Sitanshu: Yes why not and we would like to approach this game as a normal game of Ranji Trophy and they have also some good players in their team and i believe that any team can beat any team but for that you need to do basics right so definitely we would like to do that right and if we will then you will see the result.

If you had to pick one then what would you pick and why? Sitanshu Kotak the cricketer or Sitanshu Kotak the coach?

Sitanshu: I think before 20 years ago, I will pick cricketer and today coach and actually it is a very interesting question.

How pleased are you with the current crop of cricketers rising through the rank?

Sitanshu: Yeah I am very happy because they are very professionals and they understand their body and they work hard on their fitness but still there are some areas that they need to work on but overall as far as the current crop of cricketers are concerned I am very happy.

Given an opportunity which team would you like to coach, India U19, India A or the senior team?

Sitanshu: To be very honest anything that comes up to me because there are always players to work with and at the same time I can learn from them also so any thing comes up I am ready to take that and I have learnt so many things as a coach of Saurashtra so looking forward to make most of any opportunity that I get in near future.