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Cricket PlayersVVS Laxman to take over head coach duties after WI series, Rahul Dravid and staff to be rested for Ireland tour: Report
India will be touring Ireland for three T20I matches after the end of their tour of the West Indies.
India will be touring Ireland for three T20Is after their ongoing tour of the Carribean islands. The current series against the West Indies is India's first assignment since their loss to Australia in the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final in early June. India are currently 1-0 up in the two-match Test series, having beaten the West Indies by an innings and 141 runs.
While Rahul Dravid is helming the India coaching staff for the tour of the West Indies, the former captain is set to be absent in Ireland, along with batting coach Vikram Rathour and bowling coach Paras Mhambrey among others. According to a report on Cricbuzz, Dravid and his stuff are set to return from the United States, where the T20 leg of India's tour will end, and National Cricket Academy (NCA) head VVS Laxman is set to take up the role of head coach in Ireland. It is further stated in the report that the batting and bowling coaches could be selected from among Sitanshu Kotak and Hrishikesh Kanitkar (batting) and Troy Cooley and Sairaj Bahutule (bowling).
Laxman had also served as head coach during India's two-match T20 tour of Ireland last year. That was also the last time the former India batter took Dravid's place at the helm. All-rounder Hardik Pandya is expected to lead the squad, with Rohit Sharma yet to make a comeback in T20Is since the end of the 2022 T20 World Cup.
The Ireland series will have added interest from Indian fans due to the fact that premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah could be making his comeback after a long injury layoff. According to reports, Bumrah is bowling close to 8-10 overs-a-day, and is bowling full-throttle in the nets. He didn't show any discomfort during the net sessions and might even play in practice matches at the NCA, where camps are underway. In addition to Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna has also resumed bowling; the India pacer had undergone surgery for a lumbar stress fracture during the IPL earlier this year.
