Former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman is set to lead India as head coach during the white-ball tour to South Africa. This T20I series, featuring four matches, will follow the Test series against New Zealand. The matches are scheduled for November 8, 10, 13, and 15 in Durban, Gqeberha, Centurion, and Johannesburg, respectively.
VVS Laxman’s role comes as Gautam Gambhir focuses on India’s upcoming Border-Gavaskar Test series in Australia, beginning November 22 in Perth. This coaching arrangement was confirmed by a BCCI official in a report by Cricbuzz. Initially, the South Africa tour wasn’t on India’s calendar between the New Zealand and Australia series.
However, the BCCI and Cricket South Africa (CSA) later rescheduled it to fit the international calendar. Alongside Laxman, a support team from the National Cricket Academy (NCA), including coaches Sairaj Bahutule, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, and Subhadeep Ghosh, will accompany the squad.
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The packed international schedule has raised concerns among former players. Recently, Sunil Gavaskar pointed out the impact on India’s premier domestic tournament, the Ranji Trophy. Due to commitments for both the T20I series and an upcoming ‘A’ team tour in Australia, around 50 to 60 players are expected to miss state-level matches.
VVS Laxman will serve as the head coach for India’s upcoming white-ball tour of South Africa. pic.twitter.com/FL7E5ts00k
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) October 28, 2024
Sunil Gavaskar voiced his opinion in his Sportstar column, stating, “Next month, there’s a needless four-match T20 series in South Africa before the Australia tour. With an ‘A’ team also touring Australia, effectively 50-60 players won’t be available for their state teams in the Ranji Trophy.”
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This congestion in scheduling has sparked debates on balancing domestic and international commitments, with many feeling that India’s cricketing depth could be stretched thin across multiple formats and tours.
India’s T20I squad for SA tour
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
