BCCI appoints VVS Laxman as interim head coach for Asia Cup 2022 amid Rahul Dravid's COVID-19 woes

The BCCI has moved to position VVS Laxman as the interim head coach to lead India's charge in this year's edition of the Asia Cup. The commission was forced to call upon the NCA Chief after Rahul Dravid, who was previously backed to lead the team,was ruled out after he tested positive for the COVID-19 bug.

The commission released a statement addressing the issue. "VVS Laxman, Head Cricket, NCA will be the interim Head Coach for Team India (Senior Men) for the upcoming ACC Asia Cup 2022, to be played in the UAE.

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“Mr Laxman, who travelled with the Indian team that played the ODI series in Zimbabwe will oversee the team’s preparation in the absence of Mr Rahul Dravid, who tested positive forCOVID-19before the team’s departure to the UAE. Mr Dravid will join the team once he tests negative and is cleared by the BCCI Medical Team,” said the statement.

Dravid tested positive for the virus shortly before he was scheduled to travel with the team to the United Arab Emirates and has been isolating ever since, hoping to recover soon enough to make his way back to fitness.

However, the BCCI revealed that Dravid will most certainly return to lead the team through to the end of the once he recovers from the virus and is cleared by BCCI medical team to return to active contention. India will begin their Asia Cup campaign on August 28th against arch-rivals, Pakistan. Their initial charge will be overseen by none other than VVS Laxman.

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Laxman attended India's three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe, which came to an end with the Men in Blue walking away with a dominant win against The Chevrons. Team India's 3-0 whitewash against Zimbabwe marked their third ODI series clean sweep in 2022, earning them the record for most whitewash ODI series wins this year.

Although India routed Zimbabwe in their first two games, winning the series with a game in hand, the third game of the series proved to be relatively trickier. Zimbabwe tried their level best to take matters down to the wire with Sikander Raza's century; however, it was not enough to overcome the challenge presented by the Indians as they walked away with the win by 13 runs.