Former leg-spinner joins Gautam Gambhir's support staff as Team India's spin-bowling coach

Former India leg-spinner Sairaj Bahutule was appointed as the spin-bowling coach of the Indian men's cricket team on Tuesday, ahead of the one-off Test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh, which will be played from June 6 to 10."The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Sairaj Bahutule as the Spin Bowling Coach of the Indian Cricket Team (Senior Men)," the BCCI said in a media release.Bahutule joins the national setup after working with Punjab Kings in IPL 2026, where he served as the franchise's spin-bowling coach. He will now be responsible for overseeing India's spin-bowling group across formats.The 53-year-old brings extensive coaching experience at both domestic and franchise level. He was the spin-bowling consultant for the Indian team during the home Test series against Australia in 2022-23 under then head coach Rahul Dravid. He also worked as spin-bowling coach at the BCCI's National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru from 2021 to 2024.Bahutule has previously served as Rajasthan Royals' spin-bowling coach from 2018 to 2021 and again in 2025. He has also been head coach of several domestic teams, including Bengal, Vidarbha, Kerala and Gujarat.As a player, Bahutule represented India in two Tests and eight ODIs. He also enjoyed a long domestic career, scoring 6,176 runs and taking 630 wickets in first-class cricket.The Indian coaching staff currently includes batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, fast-bowling coach Morne Morkel, fielding coach T Dilip and assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate. Bahutule will now take charge of the spin-bowling coach's role.