While Team India gears up for the upcoming Test series and WTC final in England, the second-string Indian team is preparing to tour Sri Lanka in July and as per reports. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has confirmed India might be flying to Sri Lanka for a three-match ODI sequence adopted by 5 T20Is and former Indian stalwart Rahul Dravid could in all possibility become the coach of the team.
Rahul Dravid To Coach Team India in Absence Of Ravi Shastri
The BCCI, last week, announced a 24-member squad to tour England, instead of a reported 30-member contingent. Shikhar Dhawan is likely to lead Team India’s B team in Sri Lanka in the absence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. It would also mean that head coach Ravi Shastri and bowling coach Bharat Arun and batting coach Vikram Rathour would not be available either.
Indian fans will be happy to see Rahul Dravid with team India. For now, there are rumours doing the rounds that the head of NCA, and coach of the U-19 and India A teams, Rahul Dravid could be sent as the coach to Lanka with the team. The name of Paras Mhambrey has also been floating around, while no official announcement has been made.
There is confirmed the news that all the matches will be played in Colombo at the R Premadasa Stadium. “We plan to host the entire series at one venue,”
Sri Lanka Cricket’s Administrative Committee chairman Arjuna de Silva told Sportstar. “As of now, it has been decided that the Premadasa Stadium will host the fixtures. Obviously, it depends on how the situation is around that time.”
All the white ball specialists will be playing for the Sri Lankan tour and red ball specialists will be aiming to win the WTC finals and dominate the Test match series against England.
India’s first-string squad will depart for England in early June to feature in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand, scheduled to be played at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton from June 18-22.