VVS Laxman To Replace Rahul Dravid As Indian Head Coach- Reports

Rahul Dravid won’s accompany Team India to China for the historic Asian Games 2023. The Men in Blue will be participating in the multi-sports event for the first time in their history.

However, head coach Rahul Dravid will not be a part of the Indian contingent for the games. Rahul Dravid will be replaced by his former teammate VVS Laxman in the Indian camp. Laxman, who is currently serving as the chief of the National Cricket Academy, will be Team India’s coach at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, according to The Indian Express.

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The reason behind Rahul Dravid’s absence is an overlap in schedule with the all-important ICC World Cup 2023. While the Asian Games is scheduled to take place from September 23 to October 8, the men’s cricket event will be played from September 28 to October 8.

On the other hand, the ICC World Cup 2023 is scheduled to begin on October 5 in India. The World Cup is one of the reasons why India have named a second-string side for the competition. Ruturaj Gaikwad will be leading the side full of young players.

Rahul Dravid to be given a break:

The report further stated that the BCCI has also decided to give Rahul Dravid a break after the ongoing West Indies series. India are currently in the Caribbean for a full-fledged tour. After the conclusion of the ongoing two-match Test series, India will play three ODIs and five T20Is against the home side.

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After the tour ends, India are scheduled to visit Ireland for a T20I series in August. And Dravid is set to be rested for the series. As per the report, Laxman will be replacing his former teammate as the team’s head coach. Like Dravid, the support staff will also be given a break.

“They have a long series (in West Indies) and as the team for Ireland is likely to be a second-string team it was thought that VVS should go with the team. He will be the coach for the Asian Games too,” a BCCI official said.

India squad for Asian Games 2023:

Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Shivam Dube, Prabhsimran Singh (wicket-keeper)

Standby players: Yash Thakur, Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Sai Sudarsan

Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Rahul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah