‘Working on my skills with Joshi, Paranjape sir’: Tanush Kotian ahead of Ranji Trophy opener | Cricket News
MUMBAI: Set to embark on another domestic season where he desperately needs to make a mark to break into the Indian team, Mumbai’s off-spinning allrounder Tanush Kotian has been working with former India left-arm spinner and currently the spin bowling coach at the BCCI‘s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru Sunil Joshi and former India batter Jatin Paranjape’s coaching academy in Mumbai to “improve his skills.”“I have been working on my skills with Sunil Joshi sir at CoE and also at the VPCC with Jatin Paranjpe sir. I think this game will be crucial for me to show my performance and get into the (India A) side,” Kotian told reporters at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday, a day before Mumbai launch their campaign in the 2026-27 Ranji Trophy against Chandigarh here.Kotian explained that he has been trying to employ various angles, bowling at different speeds, and, as he showed in the Duleep Trophy in Aug, also bowling with the new ball. Opening the bowling in the first innings of the Duleep Trophy for West Zone against North Zone at CoE, the 27-year-old took four for 72 for West Zone against North Zone, and followed that up with four for 46 in the second innings, to finish the game with eight wickets for 118, even though WZ went down by 52 runs.“I have been using the crease now really well with the angles, bowling over the wicket, round the wicket against the right-handers and left-handers. I’m also working on which pace is effective on [which] wicket. And with the variations, I’ve developed my arm ball and the straighter one during practice, and have worked on my ability to bowl with the new ball. I bowled in the Duleep Trophy with the new ball. So, I think it will be more effective when I get the new, hard ball to work with on a surface,” Kotian explained.One criticism against Kotian is that he doesn’t pick too many top-order wickets. “I think I have done a lot. I have taken a lot of top-order wickets, and I have a lot of fivers also in my bag. So, I don’t have to prove to anyone that I have done well. But I try to keep it simple and give my best in them,” Kotian answered.It didn’t help Kotian that the last Ranji Trophy season was an underwhelming one for him- India A duty and an elbow injury meant that all could manage to play was three matches for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, in which he took nine wickets@32.77. In the quarterfinal at MCA-BKC against Karnataka, Mumbai’s bowlers failed to defend 325 in the fourth innings, with Kotian taking two for 77 in 21 overs. How disappointing was that? “ No, it wasn’t disappointing. According to me, I bowled very well. I bowled 21 overs in that game. Catches were dropped (off my bowling), but that’s a part of the game. I injured my elbow in the third match, after that, I got injured. My elbow was injured.After that, I wasn’t even going to play the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals, but it was the team’s call that they needed me in the knockouts. So, I took that call too. The team was pushing me to play. So, I tried and played. It didn’t show in the wickets column, but I think I bowled top-class stuff. If we had grabbed a few opportunities, I would have taken a fiver,” he said.Kotian grabbed the selectors’ attention during the 2023-24 Ranji season. As Mumbai went on to win the title, he was named player of the tournament for scoring 502 runs at an average of 41.83 and taking 29 wickets at 16.96. However, the spinner is yet to make his Test debut, though he spent time in the India dressing room after being added to India’s Test squad for the final two Tests of the 2024-25 tour of Australia.It must’ve hurt Kotian that Madhya Pradesh’s 33 year-old off-spinner Sarandh Jain was preferred to him for India’s Test tour of Sri Lanka in Aug. Masking his disappointment well, the boy from Vikhroli gave an apt response to the question of not getting picked for India despite a consistent show the the ball and bat in the last few seasons.“I am performing well, but there is no disappointment. I see how I can win my team by performing well in each and every match. And wherever I get an opportunity, whether it is India A or the Duleep Trophy, I look to showcase the talent that I have. Like in fielding, I try to give my 100 percent. So, I try to stick to my expectations. And if I get a chance, I will wait for that opportunity and when that opportunity comes, I will try to grab it,” he said.Recently, he did well for India A against Australia A as well. “It’s important for me to keep performing in each and every game. I have been doing that, I have that mindset to perform in bowling and batting both aspects for the team, in any situation. I look to go out there and give my best each and every innings, and score and take wickets for my team as much as I can,” Kotian said.
