Rahul Dravid unlikely to carry on as Team India head coach, VVS Laxman set to take over from South Africa tour: Reports
Team India head coach Rahul Dravid, whose two-year contract ended following the culmination of the 2023 ODI World Cup, will not sign a new deal as per reports, since he desires a role as head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Current NCA head VVS Laxman is seemingly poised to take over the affairs of the senior team, with the upcoming South Africa tour primed as the first major assignment.
Dravid took over as Team India's head coach after Ravi Shastri's exit in late 2021. He forged a strong partnership with all-format skipper Rohit Sharma to guide the team into the knockout stages of three ICC events. The Men in Blue made it to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2022, the finals of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, and final of the recent 2023 ODI World Cup.
According to a report by the Times of India, however, Dravid is not keen on the constant travel that the job demands. Apart from potentially becoming the NCA head once again and assisting the senior team on a few select occasions, the former batter is also in talks with an IPL franchise to become a member of their coaching staff in a two-year deal.
"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-time 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," a source in the BCCI told TOI.
"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 (a role he previously served in), 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 source added.
Rahul Dravid was asked about his future following Team India's heartbreaking defeat in the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia. In reply, he merely said he had not thought about the decision yet.
VVS Laxman served as the head coach for the senior team on multiple occasions in Dravid's absence
VVS Laxman is currently in charge of the senior team for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Australia. Due to the hectic schedule in recent times, he has served as the head coach on several occasions, most recently during the Asian Games 2023 where Team India won the gold medal.
Laxman was also the head coach during Team India's tour of New Zealand right after the T20 World Cup 2022, as well as the tour of Ireland earlier this year.
There is no word yet on whether the support staff's contracts will be extended. The likes of Vikram Rathour, Paras Mhambrey, and T Dilip have been associated with the team for quite a while, and their future could be in doubt if Laxman desires to bring his own set of coaches with him to assist.