The move to clip Gautam Gambhir’s wings following the debacle in Australia has begun.

The BCCI is set to appoint former Saurashtra cricketer and India A coach Sitanshu Kotak as the batting coach for the limited-overs series against England, beginning January 22 at Eden Gardens, sources told The Telegraph on Thursday.

Gambhir has so far been given a free hand in the running of the team, including the choice of having his own support staff.

Kotak’s appointment comes in the wake of a top-order failure, including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Down Under. While Rohit managed only 31 runs in five innings, the similarity of Kohli’s dismissals — poking in the corridor in eight out of his nine innings in Australia — remains the talking point.

Sunil Gavaskar even pointed out some technical flaws in Kohli’s batting. “He’s so front-footed that when the ball bounces, he’s unable to adjust, which leads to him hanging his bat outside the line and getting out. This flaw has become embedded in his technique,” said Gavaskar during commentary.

A batting coach at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, Kotak, 52, was the head coach on several India A tours and also served as assistant to VVS Laxman
whenever he has been in charge of India’s white-ball bilateral engagements.

Gambhir’s support staff includes Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate as
assistant coaches besides Morne Morkel and T. Dilip as bowling and fielding coaches, respectively.

It is understood that the support staff’s role came under intense scrutiny during the recent BCCI review meeting in Mumbai. Alleged discord and lack of cohesion in the running of the team also came up for discussion along with the support staff’s role in mitigating the crisis.

Besides assessing the team’s performance, the meeting also took stock of the immediate requirements of the team.

No batting coach has been part of the support staff though it was assumed that Gambhir and Nayar were helping out the batters. The BCCI felt Gambhir alone hasn’t been able to devote enough time to the batters, while Nayar’s role has mainly been restricted to throwdowns at nets.

The BCCI has finally felt the need to have a specialist to deal with the perennial problems of the batters. Kotak, who played for Saurashtra, was known for his dogged approach and piled over
8000 runs in 130 first-class matches.

Kotak will join the team when they assemble in Calcutta on Saturday for the five-match T20I series. Kotak’s tenure is expected to be extended depending on
the feedback.

It’s certain that heads will roll if India fail to live up to expectations in the Champions Trophy next month.