Laxman to be head coach in Zimbabwe

New Delhi: National Cricket Academy (NCA) head V V S Laxman will be India's acting head coach for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe as there is only a short turnaround time between the series and the Asia Cup starting on August 27 in the UAE, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah said on Friday.

"Yes, V V S Laxman will be in charge of the Indian team in Zimbabwe for the three-match ODI series. It's not like Rahul Dravid is taking a break. The ODI series in Zimbabwe finishes on August 22 and Dravid along with Indian team will reach the UAE on August 23. Since there is little gap between the two events, Laxman will be in charge of the Indian squad in Zimbabwe," BCCI secretary Shah told PTI on Friday.

"Since only KL (Rahul) and (Deepak) Hooda are there with the ODI squad in Zimbabwe, it was only logical that the head coach would be with the T20 squad."

The three ODIs in Zimbabwe will be played in Harare on August 18, 20 and 22.

Shah also informed that Rahul and Hooda will directly fly from Dubai to Harare as they are part of the Asia Cup squad.

The convention in BCCI has been that second string or 'A' teams have always been monitored by the head of the NCA and hence Laxman will be with the Indian squad when the first team is on assignment elsewhere.

When the Indian team was in the UK in June-July, Laxman was with the T20 squad in Ireland when Dravid was with the Test squad in England.

Rahul is making a comeback in the national squad after recuperating from sports hernia surgery.

He was initially not supposed to be a part of the Zimbabwe squad but since the medical team has deemed him fit, he is going to be with the team for the three ODIs, which will be good practice for him ahead of the Asia Cup.