Former Indian cricketer and the current director of the renowned national cricket Academy in Bangalore, VVS Laxman, will be returning to the role of India’s head coach during their upcoming tour of Zimbabwe starting on August 18 in which there will be 3ODI against the home team in Harare.
VVS Laxman has been trusted with the responsibility of coaching yet another second string Indian team which should be without several of its regular members such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and a few others who have been rested after doing an impressive job during the T20 a tour of Ireland recently.
With Rahul Dravid rested from responsibilities of coaching the national team ahead of the all-important Asia Cup 2022 to be played in the United Arab Emirates later in the month, VVS Laxman will be overseeing the role of head coach for India in Zimbabwe.
The squad has already undergone a couple of changes with regular vice captain and explosive wicket-keeper batsman KL Rahul returning to the team and being named the captain while Shikhar Dhawan stepping back into the role of being the vice-captain for the tour.
The Indian side will be without the services of spin bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar, who has suffered a shoulder injury while playing county cricket in England for Lancashire.
Apart from resting the regular coach Rahul Dravid, batting coach Vikram Rathore and bowling coach Paras Mhambrey have also been rested from the tour of Zimbabwe which should be a five-day affair from August 18-22, with 3 ODIs to be played with a one-day gap.
In the meantime, after enjoying a short break, Rahul Dravid and his regular team of coaching staff is expected to get together on August 20 before departing to the UAE for the Asia Cup 2022. India will be playing their first match in the tournament against arch-rivals Pakistan on August 28.
In Zimbabwe, VVS Laxman will have the services of his NCA support staff members Hrishikesh Kanitkar as the batting coach and Sairaj Bahutule as the bowling coach. While Sairaj Bahutule was a part of the Indian coaching staff in Ireland, the former cricketer Hrishikesh Kanitkar will be replacing Sitanshu Kotak as the batting coach, with the Saurashtra batting legend and captain overseeing an U-19 camp in Bangalore, reported ESPNCricinfo.