Shooting Cooper Connolly: Australia’s 22-year-old star
The assistant coach also took aim at Nitish Kumar Reddy, who scored 20 runs and two overs for 13 in the Rajkot match.The assessment was stark. Nitish, according to Ten Doeschate, gets opportunities but “often ended up not doing much”. The words sparked a backlash online, with fans calling the remarks disrespectful to Rohit, a senior figure who has already amassed five fifty-plus scores between the Australian tour in October-November and the Vijay Hazare Trophy, including two centuries. There was similar anger at criticism of Nitish, a 22-year-old still finding his way at international level, having played just three ODIs at the time, scoring 47 runs in three innings and going wicketless.
Posted by Priyanka Panchal
Panchal could not contain himself. In an interview with X, he wrote: “Ten Doeschate’s terrible comments about Rohit and Nitish. There is a reason why foreign coaches fail in India. They lack the dexterity you need to navigate relationships here. Especially if they don’t have anything remarkable on their CV.” #INDvNZ.” The message struck a chord because it went beyond a single post-match comment. It engaged in a familiar debate about communication, cultural understanding and how criticism is received in the Indian dressing room. For Panchal, it wasn’t the analysis itself, but the tone, timing and respect. And once those boundaries are crossed, the fallout is never limited to just one press interaction.