Rahul Dravid, former India captain and current head coach of the India A and U19 teams, has applied for the position of head coach of the Indian men’s senior team, ANI reported. Currently, Dravid is also the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
Meanwhile, sources also told ANI that Dravid’s former India teammate VVS Laxman might be the one taking over at the NCA after Dravid become the head coach of the Indian team.
The current head coach Ravi Shastri’s tenure comes to an end after the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE and he has refused an extension.
"Yes, Dravid has applied for the position of Team India head coach and Laxman is definitely in the race to take over as NCA head. Talks are on and we have to see how it goes," the source said.
Earlier, in what came as the biggest positive for Indian cricket in recent times, former India skipper Rahul Dravid had agreed to take over as the head coach of the national team. The development took place on the sidelines of the final of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League.
"Dravid has agreed and it cannot get better. The other positions will now be looked into while Vikram stays as the batting coach. The Indian team is in a state of transition with youngsters coming in and they have all worked with Dravid and it will be all the easier for Indian cricket to continue on its path to becoming world-beaters on the pitch," source said.
BCCI Secretary Jay Shah and President Sourav Ganguly had to convince Dravid after he had gone to Sri Lanka for the white-ball series in July as the head coach.
"Jay and Sourav spoke to him and it was about Dravid being convinced because it does need a lot of time as you need to be on the go constantly. But things went well and Dravid has always kept the interest of the Indian cricket on the top so it made things easier as the team would do well to have someone like him guiding the boys," the source had said.
The Indian team will see an entirely new coaching and leadership setup in T20Is as captain Virat Kohli will also be stepping down as the side's captain in the shortest format after the T20 World Cup 2021.
(ANI inputs)
