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VVS Laxman likely to be Director of the Indian team for Ireland series: Reports

Shivani Shukla

With the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) approaching its business end, the entire focus is now veering around international cricket. Team India is scheduled to play a five-match T20I series against South Africa at home, followed by an away two-match T20I series against Ireland. 


However, the situation is unusual as two separate teams will have to travel simultaneously for the two different tours. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will send a team to Ireland, where they will play two T20Is on June 26 and 28. At the same time, in England, India will feature in a rescheduled one-off Test at Edgbaston as it was postponed last year following a Covid-19 outbreak in the India camp.

Followed by the Test from July 1 to 5, India will then play three T20Is and as many ODIs against England. Hence, Rahul Dravid and Co. will be overseeing the preparations in England, while the National Cricket Academy (NCA) head VVS Laxman is expected to be the Team Director in Ireland. 

"Yes, it's possible that two teams could travel and the team which goes to Ireland, possibility that VVS Laxman will be given the post of Director of the team instead of coaching and some officials are in touch with Laxman for the same," an insider from BCCI told ANI.


India's head coach, Dravid, will be with the Test squad, slated to play a four-day practice game in Leicester from June 24-27, before heading to Birmingham for the final Test against the Ben Stokes-led England.


The Indian selection committee on Sunday announced the 18-member squad for the 5-match T20I series against South Africa, which marks the comeback of Dinesh Karthik and all-rounder Hardik Pandya in the Indian T20 set-up. 


In addition, Punjab pace sensation Arshdeep Singh and Jammu Express Umran Malik have received their maiden call-ups. The squad for Ireland could be announced after the conclusion of the home series against the Proteas.

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#OTD in 2018 | AB de Villiers announced his retirement from international cricket

On this day in 2018, one of the finest South African players to grace the field, AB de Villiers, announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket. After appearing in only 16 First-Class games, he debuted in a Test fixture against England in December 2004, with Dale Steyn as the other debutant. In the same series, the talented batter was handed his ODI debut. In 2006, he featured in his first T20I fixture against Australia. He started his career as an opener but switched to middle-order and gradually kept the wickets as well. AB scored his first Test and ODI century against the West Indies in 2005 and 2007, respectively. In 2008, he became the first Proteas cricketer to score a double century against India in the Test format. In 2010 against Pakistan, he registered the then highest individual score of 278* by a South African cricketer in the red-ball format. He played a crucial role in bringing innovations to the game, revolutionizing T20 cricket, and making his name in the Indian Premier League (IPL). From the period of 2012 to 2017, AB captained the South Africa ODI team in 103 matches and tasted success in 59 of them. Under his leadership in 18 T20Is, the team secured victories on eight occasions. In red-ball cricket, Proteas won on two out of three occasions. 2015 proved to be a terrific year for the team under AB, as they reached the semi-finals of the ODI World Cup in Australia. In one of the fixtures against West Indies, he delivered a whirlwind knock of 162* off 66 balls to help the team post 408 on the board and win by 257 runs. During his mammoth knock, he toppled the records of the fastest 50, 100, and 150 in ODIs. In his illustrious career of 114 Tests, 228 ODIs, and 78 T20Is, he garnered a total of 20,014 runs, with 47 centuries. Post-retirement from international cricket in 2018, AB continued to feature for his beloved franchise in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) until 2021.