Rahul Dravid, BCCI hold meeting, but board reportedly wants new coach for Team India

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reportedly had an in-depth discussion with Rahul Dravid over his role as Team India coach recently and the cricket body is inclined to have a new person at the top with the 2024 T20 World Cup in mind. BCCI is interested in having VVS Laxman, the National Cricket Academy (NCA) Director, as India’s new coach.

Dravid’s two-year contract as India coach came to an end with India’s heartbreaking defeat to Australia in the 2023 ODI World Cup final on 19 November. There’s no official news since then if Dravid will continue or not.

“Rahul and the BCCI had a talk about where things stand now. We will respect the decision taken by him. The general feeling is that with the T20 World Cup about 7-8 months away, there is time for a new coach to come in and build a team and set a process. He (Dravid) is quite aware of that,” a BCCI official told news agency PTI.

The official, however, added that no final decision has been taken so far.

“We are also talking about whether continuity (current coach/captain combination) is needed for the (T20) WC. We are hoping to reach a decision soon so that path forward is clear,” he added.

It was also reported that BCCI was pretty happy with Dravid’s tenure in which India reached the finals of the World Test Championship and World Cup besides winning the Asia Cup 2023.

Laxman is favourite to succeed Dravid as India’s head coach.

“Options are open (for head coach). He (Laxman) is familiar with the team, players and the methods. He also has experience working with the national team,” the official said.

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Laxman is currently with Team India as acting coach for the ongoing T20I series against Australia.