Rahul Dravid will travel as India head coach for the six-game white-ball tour of Sri Lanka in July. Apart from Rahul Dravid, the coaching staff will consist of members of Rahul Dravid’s team from the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
The Indian white-ball team that will travel to Sri Lanka has been assured of at least one week’s preparation time before the opening fixture – the first ODI on July 13.
Rahul Dravid To Coach India’s Limited Overs Team In Tour To Sri Lanka
The BCCI initially thought of hosting a camp in Bangalore, but the worsening Covid-19 situation in India which has resulted in continued lockdown has ruled out that possibility. A source connected with the tour has revealed that the touring party will have quarantine before departure in India and is preparing to undergo isolation, if needed, on arrival in Sri Lanka too, depending on the bio-protocols in the island.
Rahul Dravid, former India skipper, and current National Cricket Academy (NCA) head will coach the Indian limited-overs team that will play a six-game series (3 T20Is, 3 ODIs) against Sri Lanka in July. This will be Rahul Dravid’s second stint with the Indian team after working with the Men in Blue as a batting consultant during the England tour in 2014.
As of Tuesday (June 8), the Sri Lanka Ministry of Health guidelines states that one-day quarantine is needed for the fully vaccinated people from India, Vietnam, South African, and South American countries. These rules are applicable up to June 30. The guidelines, as per the order, could change after June 30 and different rules may be in place by the time the Indian team leaves for Sri Lanka. Different rules may also apply for those who have had only one dose of vaccination.
Production of pre-departure negative RT-PCR test would be needed on arrival, followed by a negative test result after a day’s stay at the hotel. The BCCI had previously advised players to take their vaccinations, but how many of them can complete both the doses on time before departure remains to be seen.
Shikhar Dhawan May Be Assigned Captaincy As Shreyas Iyer’s Availability Uncertain
As for the make-up of the Indian squad, there’s no immediate information on the date of the selection committee meeting, though it is expected to take place soon. Shikhar Dhawan could be handed captaincy, while Shreyas Iyer’s availability is still uncertain.
While Shikhar Dhawan, Hardik Pandya, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar look certain to be included in the Indian side, speculations are rife over who all are going to be included in the side. Young guns like Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, N Jagadeesan, and Chetan Sakariya might get rewarded for a good show in the IPL 2020-2021 while Suryakumar Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Ishan Kishan are likely to retain their spots.
The three ODIs will be played from July 13 onwards and the T20Is will take place from July 21. The ODIs will take place on July 13, 16, and 18 while the T20Is will be played on July 21, 23, and 25. The venue for the games will be R Premadasa Stadium at Colombo.
It will be a rare occasion when two Indian squads will be playing in different countries at the same time. The Virat Kohli-led side will be preparing for the five-match Test series against England at the same time. The Test squad is already in the UK for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand from June 18 while the England series begins on August 4.
Squad Contenders To Choose From- Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer (subject to fitness), Devdutt Paddikal, N Jagadeesan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Tewatia, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Kartik Tyagi, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar, T Natarajan, Rahul Chahar, Chetan Sakariya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Jaydev Unadkat, Harshal Patel