New Delhi. The Indian cricket team has to go on a foreign tour after the ICC T20 World Cup. The tenure of Team India’s head coach Rahul Dravid will end after this tournament and no information has been revealed about the reinstatement of Gautam Gambhir or any new coach till then. VVS Laxman and his support staff at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) are likely to travel with the Indian team for the five-match T20 series starting from July 6. Gautam Gambhir is expected to start his tenure as coach with the Sri Lanka tour.
The team for the Zimbabwe series will be announced later this week which may take place on June 22 or 23. Young players who have performed well in the IPL and are on the ‘target’ list of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are currently taking part in the camp at the NCA under the supervision of Laxman. Gambhir is currently a strong contender to become the head coach of the senior men’s team by defeating former head coach of the women’s team, WV Raman. The announcement will be just a formality and it can be announced in the next few days.
Gambhir will also get a chance to choose his support staff including batting, bowling and fielding coaches. It can be understood that Gambhir can start his tenure from mid-July. The Indian team will tour Sri Lanka for a limited overs series in which it will have to play three T20 Internationals and the same number of ODIs.
“There is a possibility that Laxman may travel to Zimbabwe with a team full of young faces along with some NCA coaches,” a source in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on condition of anonymity. When Rahul Dravid and other coaches took breaks during their tenure, Laxman and the NCA team have always taken up their responsibility.
It is also decided that only the youth team will be sent to Zimbabwe but six to seven members of the T20 World Cup squad will be included in it. But it seems certain to select Ryan Parag, Abhishek Sharma and all-rounder Nitish Reddy but Yash Dayal and Harshit Rana may also get a chance for the first time.
The captain of the team can be Hardik Pandya, if he does not demand rest, otherwise Suryakumar Yadav can be given this responsibility. He led the T20 team in the home match against Australia and the series against South Africa on their soil.
Tags: Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Vvs laxman
FIRST PUBLISHED: June 20, 2024, 20:01 IST
