Indian cricketer criticizes Ryan ten Doeschate on Rohit Sharma, comments on Nitish Kumar Reddy, demands immediate exit

After Manoj Tiwary, another former Indian cricketer Priyank Panchal criticized assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate over his recent comments on the form of Rohit Sharma and Nitish Kumar Reddy.

A fresh controversy has erupted in Indian cricket as former cricketers openly demanded the removal of Ten Doeschate for post-match assessment on former captain Rohit Sharma and young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy following the Men in Blue’s seven-wicket defeat against New Zealand in the second ODI in Rajkot.

In the first two matches, Rohit Sharma scored 26 and 24 against New Zealand, and Ten Doeschate suggested that the Indian captain had less game time and was still trying to get back into rhythm. He told that even though Rohit had played a few matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26, he was not as fluent as usual.

Also read: Ultimatum to Rohit Sharma to ‘score a century’ before Indore ODI vs New Zealand

Ryan ten Doeschate said in the post-match press conference in Rajkot, “Rohit, I thought tonight, especially, both innings were really new-ball wickets. Didn’t seem easy to bat on. In a short period of time, if you take the first ODI, he (Rohit) has not been as fluent, and not playing cricket between series will be a challenge for him.”

Ten Doeschate criticizes Nitish Kumar Reddy for wasting a big opportunity

Not just Rohit Sharma, Ten Doeschate also criticized Nitish Kumar Reddy, who scored just 20 runs in his two overs and took no wickets as New Zealand easily chased down the target of 284 in Rajkot. The assistant coach said that the team talks about giving opportunities to Nitish and developing him, but when given the opportunity, the youngster is often not able to make a big impact.

The former Netherlands all-rounder said that the second ODI against the Black Caps was the perfect situation for Nitish to play long innings and show that he deserves regular selection in the playing eleven, but he failed to take that opportunity.

Ten Doeschate further added, “With Nitish, we keep talking about developing him and giving him game time, and then when you give him game time, he often doesn’t do a lot in games. For someone who is making his way, especially with the bat tonight, this was the perfect opportunity where you’re walking into that situation and you’ve got to spend 15 overs on the wicket. You’ve got to really put your case forward to get selected.” “We have to take advantage of those opportunities.”

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This is the reason why foreign coaches are not successful in India: Priyank Panchal

Former Indian cricketer Priyank Panchal reacted strongly to these comments. The India A coach criticized Ten Doeschate’s comments about both Rohit Sharma and Nitish Kumar Reddy, saying that foreign coaches often struggle in India because they do not understand the importance of managing relationships in the dressing room.

He also took a dig at the Dutch cricketer’s achievements, as he felt his public criticism was difficult to accept given his record as both a player and coach.

Priyank Panchal posted on

Ten Doeschate’s terrible comments on Rohit and Nitish. This is the reason why foreign coaches are not successful in India. They lack the skills you need to manage relationships here. Especially if they don’t have anything noteworthy to show in their CV. #INDvNZ

– Priyank Panchal (@PKPanchal09) 18 January 2026