Reports | VVS Laxman set to take over as head coach after Rahul Dravid refuses contract extension
As per multiple reports, Rahul Dravid has decided to step down from his role as India's head coach after a two-year stint following a heartbreaking loss in the World Cup 2023 final against Australia. VVS Laxman, who served as the NCA chief in the meantime, is likely to be named as his successor.
Rahul Dravid took over the reins of the Indian side from Ravi Shastri after their group-stage exit at the ICC World T20 2021 and has since overseen Test series victories in Bangladesh and the West Indies as well as home wins against Sri Lanka and Australia. Under his tenure, the Men in Blue reached the World Test Championship Final in 2023 where they endured a huge loss to Australia, a result that was mirrored at the 2023 World Cup final after the side clean swept the round-robin phase of the tournament. Previously, the legendary batter had worked closely with the Indian youth set-up as the head of the National Cricket Academy.
"Dravid has communicated to the BCCI that he isn't keen to continue as a full-time coach. For close to 20 years, he has travelled with the Indian team as a player, and for the past couple of years, he again went through the same grind, which he doesn't want to undergo. He's fine with a role at the NCA as the head there, which will allow him to stay back in his hometown Bengaluru. Like earlier, he's fine with coaching the team sporadically, but not again as a full-time coach," the Times of India quoted a BCCI source.
VVS Laxman seems to be next in line for the national team job after also having previously succeeded Dravid in his role at the NCA. Laxman had led the Indian U-19 team to World Cup success in 2022 and has served as the interim head coach for the senior squad on multiple occasions, including white-ball tours of Zimbabwe, Ireland, and New Zealand as well as assignments at home against South Africa. The 49-year-old was also in-charge of a second-string side that won the Asian Games gold Medal in Guangzhou earlier this year and has been designated as the head coach for the five-match T20I series against Australia, starting November 23 at Vishakhapatnam.
"Laxman has expressed his keenness for the job. During the World Cup, Laxman travelled to Ahmedabad to meet the BCCI's top bosses in this regard. He's likely to sign a long-term contract as the Team India coach and will certainly travel with the team in that capacity for the upcoming tour of South Africa, which will be his first as the full-time India head coach," the source added.
India are set to travel to South Africa in December for three T20Is and as many ODIs followed by a two-match Test series. The upcoming calendar for the side includes a pivotal five-match home Test series against England at home as well as the World T20 in the Caribbean and USA midway through 2024.
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