The former legspinner Sairaj Bahutule will be joining India’s national side as their spin bowling coach ahead of the one-off test in the home tour against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh.

Sairaj Bahutule has already joined the team in Mullanpur for the upcoming test. His latest stint was with the Punjab Kings in IPL 2026 and has also worked with Kerala and Bengal men’s teams.

He has also been part of the Rajasthan Royals’ support staff from 2018 to 2021, before joining the National Cricket Academy (2021-2024).

He also served as the support staff for India A assignments and accompanied a few India series, when Rahul Dravid was head coach, before returning for another year with the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025.

He made his cricket debut for India in 1997 and played his final game in 2003, where he played two tests and eight ODIs.

In his domestic cricket career, he took 630 wickets in 188 FC matches and 197 wickets in 143 List A games. He also has amassed 6176 runs in domestic cricket.

He will be joining the India support staff that does not have an incumbent spin-bowling coach.

India is currently in the sixth position of the WTC 2025-27 points table, having won four and lost four tests each, along with a draw.

“It is a tremendous honour to be appointed as the Spin Bowling Coach of the Indian Men’s Cricket Team.

Representing India as a player was a matter of immense pride, and the opportunity to contribute to Indian Cricket once again in a coaching capacity is deeply special,” said Sairaj Bahutule.

“I look forward to working with the players and supporting the team’s pursuit of excellence across formats,” Bahutule concluded.

Bahutule will be joining the Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir’s coaching setup, which includes Sitanshu Kotak (Batting coach), Morne Morkel (fast bowling coach), T Dilip (Fielding) and Ryan ten Doeschate (assistant coach).