Rahul Dravid to be India coach for Sri Lanka tour
National Cricket Academy (NCA) chief and former India captain Rahul Dravid is set to be the head coach of the Indian white-ball squad that will tour Sri Lanka in July.
Dravid, who stopped travelling with the India A and U-19 teams after taking over as NCA head in Bengaluru, will be the head coach of the second-string side in the absence of Ravi Shastri, who will be busy with the Test side in England at the same time.
“He will travel with the team to Sri Lanka in all likelihood,” a BCCI source said.
PTI had reported on May 17 that Dravid was being considered for the assignment.
Bowling coach Paras Mhambrey will also be a part the of the support staff.
India are expected to play three ODIs and as many T20s in Sri Lanka in July though the schedule has not been announced yet.
The squad will have plenty of fringe players and some established white-ball specialists.
Hardik Pandya, Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer are in the running for captaincy.
It remains to be seen if Iyer recovers in time from his shoulder surgery to play in Sri Lanka.
BCCI requests ECB
LONDON: The BCCI has requested England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to advance the five-Test series by a week from its current August 4 start to give them a better shot at completing the remaining 31 matches of the now postponed Indian Premier League.
While no one from BCCI has officially confirmed the development, former England captain and renowned cricket writer Michael Atherton has reported about the development in ‘The Times’.
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India has enquired about the possibility of moving the final Test of the English summer in order to make room to complete the postponed Indian Premier League,” the report said.
“Informal discussions have been had between the respective boards as cricket continues to grapple with a schedule ravaged by Covid.”
Indian team are looking at a potential gap of six weeks after the completion of World Test Championship final against New Zealand which is scheduled from June 18-22 in Southampton and start of the England series.
4,000 fans for WTC final
SOUTHAMPTON: The World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand in Southampton will be held in the presence of 4,000 spectators, Hampshire County Club head Rod Bransgrove has said.
The Covid-19 situation has improved in the UK and around 1,500 people were allowed to watch the county game between Leicestershire and Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl, which hosts the World Test Championship final from June 18.
“We’re staging a four-day county game from today and for the first time since September 2019 fans were allowed for a cricket match in England.
The other county games of this round will begin tomorrow and those games too will see crowds,” Rod Bransgrove, the head of Hampshire County Club, said on Wednesday.