Starting from November 23 in Visakhapatnam, Suryakumar Yadav will be leading the Indian team in the five-match Twenty20 series against Australia. VVS Laxman is on board as the head coach for the entire series, wrapping up in Bangalore on December 3.
The plan is to retain most players from the Ireland series squad, except for Captain Jasprit Bumrah, who has been rested. The series includes Prasidh Krishna, a member of the World Cup squad. However, due to his injury, Hardik Pandya, despite being a potential captain if fit, is not considered.
Axar Patel, who was replaced by R Ashwin in India’s ODI World Cup squad earlier due to an injury sustained in the lead-up to the tournament, makes his return. Shahbaz Ahmed goes out. Ishan Kishan comes in for Sanju Samson, who was part of India’s last T20I assignment in Ireland. Jitesh Sharma, meanwhile, retains his spot.
In Ahmedabad on Monday, the selectors considered making Shreyas Iyer captain but decided against it due to the workload he has shouldered in recent months, beginning with the Asia Cup. However, he will join up with the squad for the last two T20Is in Raipur and Bengaluru as the vice-captain.
Rahul Dravid is taking break for 3 months, VVS Laxman will be the coach
Rahul Dravid, the designated India coach, is set for a break after three months of demanding work, making VVS Laxman’s appointment as coach unsurprising. Technically, Dravid’s tenure was only up to the World Cup, and he has expressed not having the time to reflect on his future, being entirely focused on the World Cup.
Dravid, when questioned about future plans, left the matter open-ended. “I haven’t thought about it. I’ve just come off a game. I have no time to think about this and no time to reflect on this. Yeah, I will when I get the time to do that. But at this point in time, I was completely focused on this campaign. It was focused on this World Cup, and there was nothing else on my mind. And I haven’t given any other thought to what happens in the future,” stated the coach after India’s defeat in the World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad on Monday night.
