What happened the last time Rahul Dravid took a coaching break?
Team India will be heading off to Ireland for three T20I matches after the end of their tour of the West Indies. As per reports, Rahul Dravid and the rest of the management group will be given a break in order to keep them fresh for the Asia Cup scheduled later in the year.
Meanwhile, VVS Laxman, the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), will take over the role of head coach in Ireland. The report also indicates that Sitanshu Kotak and Hrishikesh Kanitkar are potential candidates for the batting coach position, while Troy Cooley and Sairaj Bahutule are being considered for the bowling coach role.
Incidentally, Laxman had first taken on the role of head coach during India's two-match T20 tour of Ireland last year. The former cricketer has also stepped in to coach the Indian team during their tours to Zimbabwe and New Zealand as well as an ODI home series against South Africa.
The last time Rahul Dravid took a break
The latest assignment when Rahul Dravid took a break and VVS Laxman took his place was during India’s tour to New Zealand late last year. Hardik Pandya led the T20I side while Shikhar Dhawan led the ODI side.
This was a series where Suryakumar Yadav sparkled in both formats, but unfortunately, rain was a major dampener right through. India beat New Zealand 1-0 in the T20I series as two matches were washed out.
The trend continued even in the ODI series where New Zealand returned the favor by winning the first match and then holding on to the 1-0 lead as rain wiped off the remainder of the two matches.
Surykumar was adjudged player of the series in the T20I leg as he piled up 124 runs in two innings with a blazing strike-rate of 203.28. Mohammed Siraj excelled with the ball and showcased his improvement in the shortest format as he picked up six wickets in two matches with an average of 6.83.
The New Zealand bowlers were in their element in the ODI series and they constantly troubled the Indian batting order. Tim Southee picked up five wickets in three matches while Adam Milne and Lockie Ferguson picked up four wickets each.
India would have lost the series 2-0 had rain not intervened in the final match. New Zealand needed to bat just two more overs for the match to have been completed, but unrelenting rains did not allow the action to resume.
Tom Latham was player of the series for guiding his side to a win in the first ODI. It was a struggle for a young Indian batting group on a testing pitch, and the bowlers too did not make much of an impression.
It will be interesting to see how the Ireland series pans out and the side Rahul Dravid gets when he returns to take charge ahead of the Asia Cup as well as the ICC Cricket World Cup.