January 16, 2025: Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen has expressed interest in working as the batting coach for the Indian men's cricket team under head coach Gautam Gambhir.
This comes in response to media reports suggesting that India is looking to strengthen its support staff with a dedicated batting coach, following a series of disappointing batting performances. These issues have contributed to India's loss in the home series against New Zealand, their defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, and their failure to qualify for the ICC World Test Championship final.
The current support staff under Gambhir includes assistant coaches Abhishek Nayar and Ryan Ten Doeschate, bowling coach Morne Morkel, and fielding coach T Dilip. However, there is no designated batting coach at the moment. In response to a report circulating on X about the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) looking for a batting coach, Pietersen simply replied, "Available."
If the Indian team does appoint a batting coach, their key tasks could include helping players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli overcome their recent form slumps and rediscover their best, aiding Shubman Gill in gaining consistency in the longer format, and improving the batting capabilities of the tailenders, who are often tasked with scoring crucial runs.
Pietersen, known for his aggressive and innovative batting style, had an illustrious career, representing England in 104 Tests, where he scored 8,181 runs at an average of 47.28, including 23 centuries. He also made significant contributions in ODIs, with 4,440 runs in 136 matches, and T20Is, where he accumulated 1,176 runs in 37 matches. Pietersen was a key player in England’s 2010 ICC T20 World Cup victory and was named 'Player of the Tournament.'
With 13,779 runs in 275 matches and 32 centuries, Pietersen remains the third-highest run-scorer of all time for England, making him a strong candidate to mentor India's batting line-up.
