VVS Laxman. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
NEW DELHI: India's former cricketer VVS Laxman will take over as head coach for the Indian team during their upcoming four-match Twenty20 International (T20I) tour of South Africa in November. Laxman will step in for coach Gautam Gambhir, who will be heading to Australia with the Test squad for the
Border-Gavaskar Trophy
, according to a Cricbuzz report.
The tour was not originally part of India's schedule but was recently arranged following discussions between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and
Cricket South Africa
(CSA). The T20I series will be played across four venues: Durban, Gqeberha, Centurion, and Johannesburg, with matches scheduled for November 8, 10, 13, and 15.
The Indian squad is set to depart for South Africa around November 4, while the team for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will leave for Australia on November 10-11.
Laxman, who previously coached India during other short white-ball series, will be supported by staff from the National Cricket Academy (NCA), including Sairaj Bahutule, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Subhadeep Ghosh. These coaches have recently been involved with the India Emerging team at the Asia Emerging Cup in Oman.
On October 25, the BCCI announced the 15-member squad for the T20I series, which will be led by Suryakumar Yadav. The series comes just ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, providing a valuable opportunity for players to showcase their talent and potentially boost their demand among IPL franchises.
India T20I squad for South Africa series:
- 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, Yash Dayal.
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