VVS Laxman to coach Indian team in Asian Games - Reports

The National Cricket Academy (NCA) chief VVS Laxman is likely to coach the men's team at the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou.

The Asian games, which will take place in September, will overlap with the home ODI World Cup. Therefore, BCCI are likely to opt for Laxman to step in as the interim head coach in the absence of Rahul Dravid. India have already announced the squad for the Games. The team will feature several new faces and will be led by Ruturaj Gaikwad.

According to reports from Indian Express, the former Indian batter VVS Laxman will also coach the Indian men's team during their tour to Ireland. The Indian coach Rahul Dravid along with the batting coach Vikram Rathour and the bowling coach Paras Mhambrey are all set to be rested for the Ireland tour. The coaching staff, who are currently with the Indian team in West Indies, will join them back for the T20I leg of the England tour. For the Ireland tour, NCA coaches Sitanshu Kotak or Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Troy Cooley or Sairaj Bahutule will accompany Laxman.

Before the coaches are given a break, the national men's team selector Ajit Agarkar is all set to travel to West Indies to discuss the roadmap and strategy for the upcoming ODI World Cup. While India have already announced the squad for the Asian Games, the team is yet to reveal the squad for the home world cup.

India are currently in West Indies and have already won the first Test at Dominica. The debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal's 171 and R Ashwin 12-wicket haul, helped India win the 1st Test by an innings and 141 runs.

India's squad for Asian Games 2023:

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

Standby list of players: Yash Thakur, Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Sai Sudharsan.