VVS Laxman will not travel to Ireland with Team for T20I series; Sitanshu Kotak to act as Head Coach
Laxman also won’t be traveling with the team to Ireland as was reported previously instead, Sitanshu Kotak will be fulfilling the role
It was clear that Rahul Dravid and his colleagues won’t be traveling to Ireland for the T20 series as they want to focus on Asia Cup and World Cup.
It was reported that VVS Laxman will be fulfilling the role along with his colleagues at the NCA, now it has been confirmed that Laxman will also not travel with the team instead Sitanshu Kotak will be taking up the coaching role for the series.
This will be Kotak’s first assignment with the national team having played 228 matches across formats at the domestic level.
The Return of Bumrah
The three-match T20I series against Ireland will also mark the return of Jasprit Bumrah who has been out of action since September last year and has missed many major tournaments including the Asia Cup 2022 and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
He was ready to make a comeback in a three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka earlier this year but was ruled out just before the start of the series. The fast bowler has been nursing a lower back injury for a long time and has been at the NCA where he also played a few practice matches before he was declared fit to play at the highest level.
The three matches against Ireland are seen as a criterion to judge Bumrah’s fitness for the Asia Cup and the World Cup where he will need to bowl his full quota of ten overs at high intensity. It would be interesting to see how Bumrah copes with the challenge as he would also be leading the side against Ireland.
An opportunity
The three T20Is will also provide opportunities for Youngsters like Rinku Singh, Mukesh Kumar, and Arshdeep Singh to give a solid performance against Ireland to solidify their claim for a spot in the World Cup squad to be held in India in October- November.
The series also provides another chance for Tilak Verma who has impressed everyone with his performances against West Indies to get his name in the squad for the Asia Cup to be held in Sri Lanka and Pakistan from August 30.
