'Terrible comments': Veteran domestic cricketer lambasts India coach

Former Indian domestic cricketer Priyank Panchal came out strongly against assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate, calling out his comments on Rohit Sharma and Nitish Kumar Reddy and questioning whether foreign coaches truly understand how to handle relationships within Indian cricket. After the defeat to New Zealand, Ten Doeschate spoke about Rohit’s form, pointing out that the India captain “had not been as fluent as he has been” on what he described as a tough wicket. The comment came despite Rohit scoring 26 and 24 in the two ODIs so far, following a Vijay Hazare Trophy outing for Mumbai in December where the returns were 155* and 0. The assistant coach also took aim at Nitish Kumar Reddy, who had scored 20 runs and bowled two overs for 13 in the Rajkot game. The assessment was blunt. Nitish, according to Ten Doeschate, gets opportunities but “often ended up not doing a heck of a lot”. Those words triggered backlash online, with fans calling the remarks disrespectful towards Rohit, a senior figure who had already piled up five fifty-plus scores between the Australia tour in October-November and the Vijay Hazare Trophy, including two centuries. There was similar anger over the criticism of Nitish, a 22-year-old still finding his feet at international level, having played only three ODIs at the time, scoring 47 runs across three innings and going wicketless. Panchal did not hold back. Taking to X, he wrote: “Terrible comments by Ten Doeschate on Rohit and Nitish. There’s a reason foreign coaches don’t succeed in India. The dexterity you require to navigate through relationships here is lacking in them. Especially if they do not have anything notable to show in their CV. #INDvNZ.” The message struck a chord because it went beyond one post-match comment. It tapped into a familiar debate about communication, cultural understanding, and how criticism is delivered within the Indian dressing room. For Panchal, the issue was not analysis alone, but tone, timing and respect. And once those lines are crossed, the fallout is never limited to just one press interaction.