Ryan ten Doeschate focuses on reviving India's spin mastery ahead of crucial home Test Series

New Delhi [India], August 21 : Ryan ten Doeschate, the former Netherlands all-rounder, has taken on an unexpected challenge in his new role as one of India's assistant coaches. Upon joining the coaching staff led by Gautam Gambhir, ten Doeschate quickly realized that helping Indian batters improve their play against spin would be a key area of focus as the team gears up for an intense home season featuring five Test matches, two against Bangladesh and three against New Zealand.
"One of the challenges I wasn't expecting and I kind of overlooked is the playing of spin by Indian batters," ten Doeschate told TalkSport Cricket.
"We got undone in Sri Lanka," he added.
His comments come in the wake of India's recent three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka, where the team lost 27 wickets to spin, the most any team has ever lost to spin in such a short series. The performance raised concerns, with captain Rohit Sharma acknowledging that playing spin is an area that needs attention.
For ten Doeschate, this issue is indicative of a broader shift in focus within Indian cricket. "The mindset of India has been such that they've been so desperate to do well overseas," he said.
"The focus has moved to doing well in Australia, England [so] that we've kind of let playing spin, which was always a strength of the Indian team, fall back a little bit. That's one thing I'm looking forward to helping with, getting to that position where Indians are the best players of spin in the world again," he added.
At 44, ten Doeschate brings with him a wealth of experience from his playing days and from his post-retirement coaching career. He has worked with teams such as Kent, Kolkata Knight Riders, and more recently, LA Knight Riders in Major League Cricket.
Now, alongside Abhishek Nayar, ten Doeschate is focused on ensuring that India's formidable batting lineup regains its status as the world's best against spin.
However, ten Doeschate is clear that his approach will not be overly technical.
"[It's about] throwing ideas out there, de-briefing and keeping the mental space really good. That's going to be really important," he noted.
Despite the challenges of joining a successful team fresh off a World Cup victory, ten Doeschate is both excited and cautious about the road ahead.
"It's exciting and kind of daunting at the same time," he admitted.
With India eyeing the World Test Championship (WTC) final next June, he sees a significant opportunity in the 10 Tests remaining in this cycle, five at home and five more in Australia later in the year.
"In terms of what we're looking forward to, qualifying for the WTC final [next June is a goal]. There's a great opportunity with 10 Tests left, five in India [over the next couple of months] and then going to Australia [for five more at the end of 2024] is going to be great," he said
Beyond the WTC, ten Doeschate is also looking forward to the 2025 Champions Trophy and the 2026 T20 World Cup, acknowledging the difficulty of switching between formats while maintaining high performance.
"Then in the medium term there's the Champions Trophy [in February 2025]. With only three ODIs left in the prep phase, it's going to be really challenging to switch between the formats and get the team ready for that, which again is something they're desperate to win," added Ryan.
As he settles into his new role, ten Doeschate is energized by the prospect of guiding India through a packed and challenging schedule over the next 18 months.
"Then in the next [WTC] cycle, the tour to England [summer of 2025] is going to be fantastic and then prepping the team for the [2026] T20 World Cup. In terms of timing, it's quite difficult to walk into a team that's just come back with the [2024 T20] World Cup, but in terms of what's ahead for the next 18 months, it's mouth-watering as a coach. It's all the series you want to be involved in and all the challenges you want to come up against," he noted.