Reports: Rahul Dravid Likely To Serve As India's Coach For Sri Lanka Tour

The rescheduling of fixtures and a hectic cricketing calendar amid quarantine regulations due to COVID-19 will force the BCCI to pick a second-string squad for the Sri Lanka tour. Along with naming several rookie players, the BCCI is also likely to rope in a new coach in Rahul Dravid. A report from Cricbuzz said that the idea is being contemplated upon, with the support staff from the National Cricket Academy accompanying Rahul Dravid.

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly announced recently that India will visit Sri Lanka for three ODIs and as many T20Is in July and at a time when the men in blue would already be in England. With England set to host India for five Tests, the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah would not be available to travel to Sri Lanka. It would also mean that head coach Ravi Shastri and bowling coach Bharat Arun and batting coach Vikram Rathour would not be available either.

It seemed likely that BCCI will pick a large group for the England tour, consisting of 30 members; however, the selectors named only 20 for a crucial Test series against England, preceded by the World Test Championship final against New Zealand. The decision came on account of keeping in mind that a host of other players will go to Sri Lanka to play white-ball games.

Rahul Dravid likely to coach, with Shikhar Dhawan leading the side in Sri Lanka:

Amongst the players likely to make the Sri Lanka tour are Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Kuldeep Yadav and many more.

The BCCI is still in the process of finalizing the squad amongst the several options available at their disposal. Shikhar Dhawan, who was in sublime form for the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2021, is likely to captain, with Rahul Dravid serving as the coach.

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