VVS Laxman - sportstiger

Picture Credit: Twitter

Former India cricketer and current NCA head VVS Laxman is set to coach the national squad for the T20I series against South Africa, followed by two-match T20I series against Ireland. Reports have claimed that Rahul Dravid will travel with the team for the remaining Test & England tour.

"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 T20's", informed a top BCCI official. Notably, the Indian selectors will once again select two teams - one team for the South Africa & Ireland series and another for England tour.

With senior players rested for the T20 series against South Africa, the Chetan Sharma-led selection committee will pick a young squad with the inclusion of Dinesh Karthik, Shikhar Dhawan and Hardik Pandya. The five-match South Africa series will begin on June 9, a week after IPL 2022 ends. Meanwhile, India's tour of England will begin on July 1, with both the sides taking on each other in the final Test match, which was abruptly stopped due to rising Covid cases.

Following the conclusion of the one remaining Test, the team will also take part in a three-match T20I series before taking part in a three-game ODI series against the same side. Reports have further claimed that senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and a few others will be rested from the South Africa series due to exhausting IPL 2022. However, selectors are likely to opt for top performers from India Premier League as for South Africa and Ireland series.

Team India will have a warm-up game against Leicestershire on June 24 before the Birmingham Test and hence, will leave on either June 15 or 16. Mumbai Indian skipper Rohit Sharma will continue to lead the Test side, while Shikhar Dhawan is reportedly the first choice option for the captaincy for the India vs South Africa T20I series. However, Hardik Pandya has also emerged as the front-runner to lead the side after his successful maiden stint as the skipper of the Gujarat franchise in the IPL 2022 season.