Former India batter VVS Laxman is likely to take up the position of head coach of team India for the T20I series against South Africa and Ireland, with Rahul Dravid set to travel with the Test team to England.
Keeping in mind the players' workload and the tight scheduling, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to select two separate squads for the South Africa T20I Series and India's tour of England. As a result, most of the senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah are likely to be given rest for the T20I series against South Africa.
Seasoned batter Shikhar Dhawan and all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has impressed everyone with his leadership skills for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022, are reckoned for the leadership role for both South Africa and the short two-match T20I series against Ireland.
As per the latest report by InsideSport, Laxman is tipped to be appointed as India's interim coach for the limited-overs series against South Africa and Ireland.
"We now have a warm-up game against Leicestershire on June 24 before the Birmingham test. Rahul Dravid and the team will leave on June 15th or 16th. We will be asking VVS (Laxman) to step in for India, South Africa T20's and Ireland T20s," informed a top BCCI official.
Laxman is currently the chief of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Meanwhile, Dravid was appointed as the head coach of the Indian men's cricket team last year by the BCCI.
Laxman has enough coaching experience, having done so in the IPL with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Bengal as a batting consultant, besides being in charge of the India U-19 during its ICC U-19 World Cup triumph in the West Indies.