Rahul Dravid to be rested, VVS Laxman to coach India for Ireland tour - Reports
Rahul Dravid, Vikram Rathour and Paras Mhambrey to be given rest during India's tour of Ireland.
If reports are to be believed, India's head coach Rahul Dravid, batting coach Vikram Rathour, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey and fielding coach T Dilip will be given rest after completion of India's tour of West Indies and the USA.
India are currently 1-0 up against West Indies in the two-match test series and will play three ODIs as well as five T20Is followed by the second test, which will be played from 20th July at Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago.
India's coaching staff consisting of Rahul Dravid, Vikram Rathour, Paras Mhambrey and T Dilip have been travelling with the Indian team since the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia in England.
The coaching staff, who were on rest for two months during IPL 2023, will be again on rest during India's tour of Ireland according to Cricbuzz, to get prepared for the Asia Cup 2023 which will kick-off on 31st August. This will be followed by the blockbuster event of the year - the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at home. Dravid & Co. will return home from the US after the completion of India's final two T20Is against West Indies.
VVS Laxman & Co. to take charge of Indian team for Ireland tour:
According to the same report, National Cricket Academy (NCA) head VVS Laxman is likely to travel to Ireland with the team as India's interim head coach for the three-match T20I series which will be played between 18th August to 23rd August. VVS Laxman had also travelled to Ireland last year as India's interim head coach for the two-match T20I series when Dravid & co were given rest.
Alongside Laxman, four more staff from the NCA, Sitanshu Kotak and Hrishikesh Kantikar will travel as batting coaches, while Troy Cooley and Sairaj Bahutule will accompany the team as bowling coaches.
Hardik Pandya, who has been captaining the Indian team after the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia is likely to retain the position against Ireland as well. Moreover, the senior members of the Indian team like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be given rest for the tour after completion of all-format series against West Indies.
India's tour of Ireland schedule:
1st T20I - 18th August, The Village, Dublin | 3 PM (Local Time) | 7:30 PM IST
2nd T20I - 20th August, The Village, Dublin | 3 PM (Local Time) | 7:30 PM IST
3rd T20I - 23rd August, The Village, Dublin | 3 PM (Local Time) | 7:30 PM IST
Murali Krishna is the content and social media head of the Cricket desk at Khel Now. He started his journey in 2012 with fan pages on Facebook before starting his own start-up, CricTracker, in 2013. With more than 12 years of experience in the field, he focuses mostly on managing the team rather than on working on the front line.