Rahul Dravid could be appointed interim India coach for Sri Lanka tour
Former India captain and NCA director of cricket, Rahul Dravid, could be appointed interim India head coach for the limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka in July.
Dravid’s appointment can be made since regular head coach Ravi Shastri and his support staff will be busy at the time in the UK with the Indian Test squad.
Given the stringent travelling restrictions and health safety regulations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the travelling Indian Test squad will stay in England from June to September for the World Test Championship final and the five-Test series versus the hosts.
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Thus, to ensure there aren’t any logistical hurdles, Rahul Dravid and a group of NCA coaches could fly to Sri Lanka with a second-string limited-overs squad, reported Cricbuzz on India’s imminent tour.
Rahul Dravid could be India’s coach for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka.
In an interaction with PTI, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly confirmed that India will be travelling to the Island nation for three ODIs and three T20Is. He also informed that the selectors will be appointing a completely different squad from the one that has gone to England.
Rahul Dravid could be appointed interim India coach for Sri Lanka tour
“We have planned a white ball series for the senior men’s team during the month of July where they will play T20 Internationals and ODIs in Sri Lanka. Yes, it will be a team of white-ball specialists. It will be a different team,” Ganguly said.
Earlier, Ganguly also confirmed that July will be the window for India’s Sri Lankan sojourn as he ruled out the possibility of the remaining matches of IPL 2021 being rescheduled in the month after the WTC final and before the England Tests.
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“No,” Ganguly said in response to an interview query from Sportstar. “India is supposed to go to Sri Lanka for three ODIs and five T20Is. There are lots of organisational hazards like 14-day quarantine. It [the IPL] can’t happen in India [either]. This quarantine is tough to handle. Too early to say how we can find a slot to complete the IPL.”
Coming back to Rahul Dravid, the legendary No.3 batsman was previously the coach of the India U-19 and A sides before being elevated to the NCA director post. Dravid, a man of unquestionable integrity, has been a mentor for quite a lot of the young Indian players, which shall help if he is to accompany the team for the Sri Lanka series.
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ESPNcricinfo reported on Monday (May 10) the details from Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) proposed itinerary for the India visit, which has the three ODIs scheduled for July 13, 16 and 19 and T20Is on July 22, 24 and 27, respectively. India’s white-ball touring party could arrive on Lankan shores on July 5 and depart on July 28.
The likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal and young players horned under Rahul Dravid’s India ‘A’ programme will go through their pre-series quarantine in two different sections. First, a three-day hard quarantine where they can’t move out of their rooms and the other, in which they can train across four days leading into the first ODI, albeit with their movement still restricted to “just the hotel and the ground”.