MUMBAI: India have appointed former all-rounder Sairaj Bahutule as spin bowling coach, the BCCI announced on Tuesday.
Bahutule played two Tests and eight ODIs for India and remained a domestic cricket stalwart with 6176 runs and 630 wickets to his name in first-class cricket.
The 53-year-old will oversee the spin department across formats, with his first assignment coming up in a few days against Afghanistan.
Sairaj Bahutule also served as the Punjab Kings spin-bowling coach in the IPL 2026 and is a richly experienced coach, having worked with numerous domestic teams.
Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel
Following the announcement, he expressed immense pride and described it as an opportunity to nurture Indian spinners.
“Representing India as a player was a matter of immense pride, and the opportunity to contribute to Indian Cricket once again in a coaching capacity is deeply special. I look forward to working with the players and supporting the team’s pursuit of excellence across formats,” he said.
India will be playing international cricket for the first time since the T20 World Cup 2026 triumph in March.
The one-off Test against Afghanistan is scheduled to run from 6 June to 10 June at Mullanpur in New Chandigarh. The fixture will be followed by an ODI series, scheduled to begin on 13 June.
India squads for Afghanistan series
Test Squad:
Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vc), Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Manav Suthar, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey
ODI Squad:
Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma*, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya*, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey.
Fixtures:
One-off Test – 6 June to 10 June, Mullanpur
1st ODI – 13 June, Dharamsala
2nd ODI – 17 June, Lucknow
3rd ODI – 20 June, Chennai
READ: England announce 12-member squad for first New Zealand Test