&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Remember Sairaj Bahutule? PBKS spin coach joins India support staff for Afghanistan series")
Sairaj Bahutule, the former Indian leg-spinner and a domestic giant with over 600 wickets in First-Class cricket, will join Team India’s backroom staff as their spin-bowling coach for the one-off Test against Afghanistan. The 53-year-old Punjab Kings spin coach will also work with the spinners in white-ball cricket.
Bahutule’s coaching experience should come in handy for the Indian spinners across formats. While his latest stint was with PBKS during the just-concluded IPL 2026, where his team finished outside the top four, Sairaj worked with Kerala and Bengal men’s teams earlier. Even in the IPL, he was part of Rajasthan Royals’ support staff from 2018 to 2021, before joining the National Cricket Academy (NCA). He rejoined the franchise for one year during the 2025 edition.
During Rahul Dravid’s tenure as Team India head coach, Sairaj was part of the support staff for India A series, alongside a few India series.
Meanwhile, Bahutule had a brief international career. Since making his India debut in 1997, the leg-spinner has played only two Tests and eight ODIs, with his last appearance coming in 2003. However, in domestic cricket, Bahutule registered 630 FC wickets in 188 matches, and 197 in 143 List-A Games
Bahutule will now join Team India’s coaching staff consisting of the head coach (Gautam Gambhir), bowling coach Morne Morkel, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, T Dilip (fielding coach) and Ryan Ten Doeschate (assistant coach).
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Sitting in the sixth place on the WTC points table with four wins, as many losses and a draw, Team India must pull up its socks should they wish to stay alive in the race for the top two in this cycle. Team India will return to action for the one-off Test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh, starting June 6.
