Former batting veteran and NCA boss VVS Laxman will be Team India’s head coach for the four-match T20I series against South Africa starting November 4. With regular coach Gautam Gambhir flying with the Test squad to Australia for the marquee five-match series beginning in Perth on November 22, Laxman filled in for him the way he did for ex-coach Rahul Dravid several times during his tenure.
Laxman will bring in Sairaj Bahutule, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Subhadeep Ghosh as part of the backroom staff for Proteas T20Is, to be played in Durban, Gqeberha, Centurion and Johannesburg on November 8, 10, 13 and 15 respectively.
Bahutule (head coach), Kanitkar (batting coach) and Ghosh (fielding coach) were part of the Emerging Asia Cup in Oman, where India got knocked out in the semis against eventual winners Afghanistan.
Besides, Saurashtra’s Sitanshu Kotak and Kerela’s Mazhar Moidu, both associated with the NCA, are part of the India-A coaching staff, which is currently in Australia for the two unofficial Tests against Australia-A, with Ruturaj Gaikwad leading the team.
Meanwhile, this series was never a part of FTP earlier and only got added after a closed-door meeting between the BCCI and Cricket South Africa (CSA).
The team will depart for the Rainbow Nation on November 4, while the BGT-bound squad will fly Down Under on November 10.
India’s squad for South Africa T20Is –
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan and Yash Dayal
Gavaskar bashes needless scheduling
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar came down hard on the BCCI for arranging a short overseas series amid India’s premier domestic tournament, the Ranji Trophy, saying it was needless and that with close to 50-60 players occupied in different series, it is a blow to the league, which is not good for Indian cricket.
“Next month, there’s a needless four-match T20 series in South Africa before the tour to Australia. There will also be an ‘A’ team touring Australia next month, so effectively about 50 to 60 players will not be available for their state teams in the premier national tournament, the Ranji Trophy,” Gavaskar opined, writing for Sportstar.