Punjab Kings staff member to join India’s backroom team as spin-bowling coach

Sairaj Bahutule, the current spin-bowling coach of the Punjab Kings (PBKS), is expected to take the same role in the Indian Cricket Team at the end of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. 

According to reports, Bahutule has already held talks with head coach Gautam Gambhir and other senior members within the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take up the vacant position. 

Bahutule has a good reputation within the Indian cricketing fraternity for his spin-bowling prowess as a coach, something which caught the eye of Gambhir and with no designated spin-bowling coach amongst the backroom staff, the former left-handed batter himself recommended the 53-year-old’s name to the hierarchy. 

It is worth mentioning that Bahutule has been in and around Team India’s setup in the past. He has previously travelled with the senior men’s squad whilst fulfilling his role with the National Cricket Academy/Centre of Excellence, which was headed by former batting great VVS Laxman. The current PBKS spin-bowling coach also temporarily formed part of the coaching setup under Rahul Dravid during the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy and India’s tour to Sri Lanka.

Bahutule formed part of the PBKS setup before the start of the current season of the IPL. Prior to his role with last season’s finalists, the coach formed part of the Rajasthan Royals’ backroom staff alongside Dravid. According to Cricbuzz, PBKS will not come in the way of Bahutule to link up with Team India’s setup, regardless of the contractual situation in New Chandigarh. 

Bahutule has represented India 10 times, including two Test matches during the early 2000s. He made his international debut in a One Day International (ODI) game against Sri Lanka in Guwahati in 1997. The spinner made his Test debut four years later in Chennai against Australia.

Bahutule did not have much success on the international stage, taking just five wickets from 10 outings. He last played for India in 2003 in an ODI game against New Zealand in Cuttack.