Hours after Team India lifted the 2026 T20 World Cup trophy in Ahmedabad, the feeling within the dressing room was a mix of overwhelming relief, pure ecstasy and deep gratitude. For batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, the victory is as much for the billion-plus fans as it is for the squad, as he opens up on the hard work that was put behind the success, the Gautam Gambhir mindset in the dressing room and how a young Indian team adopted a fearless mindset to lift the coveted trophy twice on the bounce.
“It is unbelievable,” Kotak says in an exclusive interview with RevSportz, hours after the Men in Blue lifted the trophy in Ahmedabad, still soaking in the monumental achievement. “More than that, if I tell you honestly, the amount of happiness I see in our public’s faces with India winning the World Cup… when I see them celebrating, I feel so happy to be part of that group. In 2024, when I was at the NCA, I experienced from the outside how it feels. But when I am inside, it’s a different feeling. I am so happy and thankful to God that he made me a part of this journey.”
Kotak’s journey to the World Cup-winning support staff began just before the home series against England in 2025. Brought into the fold by head coach Gambhir, Kotak has had a front-row seat to the transformation of a young, fearless Indian side, playing a crucial and perhaps thankless job of instilling a fearless mindset in the team.
A significant part of India’s success can be traced back to the environment cultivated by Gambhir. Known for his intense demeanour on the field, Gambhir the coach, according to Kotak, is a master of delegation.
“Gautam is a very, very clever person, very intelligent and very knowledgeable,” Kotak explains. “Since I’ve come, he gives 100 per cent freedom. He won’t forcefully impose his own thinking. Till today, he has never told me regarding work, whether we win or lose, ‘Hey Kotak bhai, why did you do this, why did you do that’? Never.”
This culture of trust allows players to express themselves without the fear of failure. “He is so mature; he knows that even after doing everything right, sometimes the result might not come. If you play 50 matches, you might lose five or seven matches. You won’t win all 50,” Kotak notes. “Whatever a support staff member needs from a head coach, he provides 100 per cent support. He doesn’t interfere or stop you. He knows that the batting is for Kotak bhai to look after.”
It’s a trait Kotak recognises in the modern lineage of Indian coaches. “I joined the NCA with Rahul bhai, spent years with Laxman, and now I’m seeing Gautam. Their mindset is the same: we will do good things, stay positive, and focus on a good process. They never blame anyone for winning or losing. Not a single word of blame comes from their mouths. It’s a sign of greatness.”
A prolific run-scorer in domestic cricket during his playing days, Kotak had to completely rewire his brain to coach at the highest level. “The first rule of any coaching is that the day you start coaching, you have to forget that you were a player and what you used to do,” he says. “For example, Abhishek (Sharma) has his own style, Sanju (Samson) has his own. How can I make them better in their areas? Just because I played well on the leg side doesn’t mean I teach everyone to play on the leg side.”
For Kotak, managing the mental side of the game is paramount. “I have studied sports science, biomechanics and many other courses but in coaching, what not to say is sometimes more important than what to say. If I say four wrong things to you at the wrong time, you will start doubting yourself.”
India’s T20 World Cup campaign wasn’t without its challenges. Early in the tournament, a top-order wobble threatened to derail their momentum, culminating in an intense strategic pivot following the South Africa match in the Super 8.
“Abhishek was sick in the first match, didn’t score runs. Then we were losing wickets in the very first over for four matches,” Kotak reveals. “The batting momentum I wanted wasn’t coming. Rather than being stubborn, it was better to break the pattern because the other teams had figured it out.”
After the defeat against South Africa, Gambhir had a meeting with captain Suryakumar Yadav and the coaching staff in the dugout. The management made the bold call to shake up the order. “We decided to play two wicketkeepers, make Sanju open, put Ishan (Kishan) at number three, and change Tilak’s (Varma) order. We decided to start with a lefty and a righty so Sanju could attack the off-spinner and disturb the opposition’s planning.”
The result was devastating for the opponents. “From Zimbabwe onwards, every match was practically a knockout for us. And the team won all of them easily. What Gautam did was to make everyone understand that it is time to rewire things in the line-up. And look at the results.”
Even in the semi-final against England that had fans on the edge of their seats, the team felt firmly in control from the dugout. Speaking on Shivam Dube bowling the final over, Kotak laughs: “In the last over, Shivam Dube was looking to bowl from behind the crease just to avoid a no-ball. His aim wasn’t to stop the batter from hitting; his aim was just to not bowl a no-ball. Let (Jofra) Archer hit three sixes, no problem. If you look at it, we would have won that match by 20-25 runs easily. It only got tight because (Jacob) Bethell played an outstanding innings.”
Kotak is quick to highlight the character of a squad that lacked the vast experience of previous iterations. “The beauty of this team is that it doesn’t have as many experienced players as we had in the last T20 World Cup. But these guys, in less than 24 months, built such good momentum and confidence. The youngsters are fearless, they will do anything to contribute for the team.”
That confidence is underpinned by incredible camaraderie. “Look at (Mohammed) Siraj, Kuldeep (Yadav), Washington (Sundar). They are all champions. Even Siraj, after taking three wickets, if he had to sit out, he still helped everyone with a smile. The unity in this team is its USP.”
While the players rightfully take the limelight, Kotak deflected praise to the behind-the-scenes crew and the BCCI’s structural investments.
“The entire support staff works incredibly hard. But I personally call it ‘support staff’ because our job is just that, to support those players,” he emphasises. “We stay ready thinking that once this task is done, we can sleep, because we aren’t the ones who have to play the match. We are mature ex-players now. It is their time to play, to win matches, to be successful. We have to silently support them.”
Kotak also tips his hat to the administrators: “The BCCI has invested enough money everywhere so that the players’ lives are settled and they can play cricket freely. Under Jay Shah earlier and now with the current BCCI hierarchy, a top-level group has been formed where players are financially secure enough to fully concentrate on cricket without worrying about household responsibilities. Look at the domestic set-up, no other country plays as many domestic games. The system is robust and the pipeline is endless, and the credit goes to Rahul Dravid earlier and now (VVS) Laxman, and all others who are part of this eco-system, who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make Indian cricket better.”
With the T20 World Cup trophy secured, the Indian dressing room already has its eyes locked on the next piece of silverware, the one that has repeatedly slipped through their fingers. “I am thinking about the fact that India have not won the WTC (World Test Championship) final,” Kotak says when asked about the future. “The first challenge is the nine matches left in the WTC cycle. We need to do well in those, get the right results, and first qualify for the final. And then win it. The work with the T20I and ODI side will continue but doing well in Test cricket is paramount.”
The preparation is already underway. “God’s plan always works. So, I hope God helps us in this too. Ever since we lost the South Africa series, that work has been going on. And we will keep doing it relentlessly. And I am confident that the result will come there too.”
As the celebrations carry on, the message from the Indian camp is clear, the T20 World Cup is conquered, but the hunger remains.
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