# India coaching staff to split after final ODI against New Zealand 2026-11-09T05:58:05+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 5 independent outlets (6 source reports) India's coaching staff will split after the third ODI against New Zealand in Hamilton on Tuesday (10 November), with head coach Gautam Gambhir and spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule staying with the ODI squad while batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and bowling coach Morne Morkel join the Test squad for a pre-series camp in Wellington. Kotak said the plan is still to be finalised by Gambhir. Three fast bowlers from the ODI squad, likely Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar and Auqib Nabi, may stay back as net bowlers and reserve players for the Tests. The Test squad begins a preparatory camp on 11 November ahead of the first Test at the Basin Reserve on 19 November. Kotak noted that swing and seam movement from the ODIs will help batters prepare for similar conditions in the longer format. Update, 9 November 2026: India Today now reports that the India A team, overseen by Hrishikesh Kanitkar, is also involved in Test preparation, with three tour games already underway. The outlet confirms that Kotak and Morkel will join the Test camp, while Gambhir and Bahutule stay with the ODI squad. Times of India adds that players from the India A set-up in Christchurch will link up with the Test group in Wellington. ## Indian Opinion Analysis All five outlets report the same plan, attributed to batting coach Sitanshu Kotak: head coach Gautam Gambhir and spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule will stay with the ODI squad, while Kotak and bowling coach Morne Morkel will join the Test camp in Wellington. Two outlets, Times of India and India Today, add more detail on three fast bowlers (likely Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar and Auqib Nabi) staying as net bowlers, a point others mention briefly. Every source emphasises that Gambhir will take the final call, and none carries a critical or pro-government slant. The coverage is uniform straight reporting. The concrete next step is the Test squad's camp in Wellington beginning on 11 November. ## Coverage Coverage: 4 sources, 4 neutral - espncricinfo.com (neutral report) Straight factual report of Kotak's press conference - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Wire-style report with detailed quotes from Kotak - Syndicated copy - ndtv.com Succinct factual report of the coaching split plan - freepressjournal.in Straight news report quoting Kotak extensively - indiatoday.in (neutral report) Clear factual report with added context on India A This brief was synthesised by AI from the 4 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Gautam Gambhir, Indian cricket team, Morne Morkel, New Zealand, Sitanshu Kotak, Wellington Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/india-coaching-staff-splits-after-third-odi-for-test-prep/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/india-coaching-staff-splits-after-third-odi-for-test-prep/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/