Rahul Dravid-led coaching staff to be rested for Ireland series; NCA head VVS Laxman likely to fill shoes

Rahul Dravid-led coaching panel will get the much-required rest during the three-match Ireland T20Is, which starts on August 18 in Dublin. With Dravid, batting coach Vikram Rathore and bowling coach Paras Mhambrey currently in the Caribbean Islands for the long tour that ends with the final two T20Is in the USA, all will head home to rest and prepare for the Asia Cup that gets underway on August 31. In their absence, NCA head, VVS Laxman-led team will coach the Men in Blue in Ireland.

Looking at the packed calendar ahead, with the multi-team tournament in Asia Cup, the white-ball series against Australia and the home World Cup that begins on October 5, BCCI opting for the rotational policy with coaches to make sense.

Interestingly, during last year’s Ireland series also, VVS Laxman led the Indian Team as the board decided to rest Dravid & Co. 

Meanwhile, other than Laxman, two other members, each from the batting (either Sitanshu Kotak or Hrishikesh Kanitkar) and bowling (either Troy Cooley or Sairaj Bahutule) departments, will travel to Ireland for the three-match T20Is.

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar to join Team India in WI soon

The newly-appointed chief selector Ajit Agarkar is reported to be joining the squad in West Indies ahead of the second Test that starts on Wednesday, July 19, in Port of Spain, while Salil Ankola – a member of the selection committee, is already travelling with the team.

Ajit’s purpose of travelling to the Caribbean Islands is to sit with the captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid and talk about potential selections for the Ireland series and the Asia Cup that follows. 

Though no official word is out on how India’s T20I Team in Ireland will look, earlier reports suggested all-rounder Hardik Pandya will continue to lead. Seniors, including Rohit, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, are again likely to get rested. 

The big news, however, was the potential return of Jasprit Bumrah for the Ireland series. Bumrah, currently training at the NCA in Bengaluru, is said to be sending down good eight to ten overs regularly and is nearing complete fitness. 

The same cannot be said about batters Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul. While Iyer has resumed batting at the NCA, no comments on Rahul’s return to the side are made public.

Meanwhile, as things stand, India is leading the two-match Test series against West Indies 1-0 after winning the first Test by a whopping margin of an innings and 141 runs.