BCCI keeps VVS Laxman on standby for Asia Cup 2022 after head coach Rahul Dravid tests positive - Report
Laxman has been kept on standby for Asia Cup 2022 after Dravid tested COVID positive. | Photo - IPL/AFP |
The majority of the Indian squad is already in the UAE ahead of the start of the Asia Cup 2022 which gets underway on August 28. However, India are currently without their head coach Rahul Dravid, who tested positive for COVID-19 during a routine test on Tuesday ahead of his scheduled departure to the UAE.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India 9BCCI) has reportedly kept VVS Laxman on standby to serve as the stand-in head coach of the Indian team in case Dravid fails to recover in time. Laxman who is currently the head of BCCI's National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, has already been on two tours with the Indian team as their stand-in head coach in Dravid's absence.
Laxman served as India's stand-in head coach for the first time during the team's tour of Ireland in June this year and came in as a cover for Dravid once again during their recently-concluded three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe. As Dravid remains in India after testing positive, Laxman has been asked to travel to the UAE with the Indian squad.
“Dravid’s symptoms are mild. So we will wait and decide later whether we need to send VVS Laxman as his replacement or not. Laxman is already in Harare and they are supposed to take a flight to Dubai today," a BCCI official told Indian Express.
"We can ask Laxman to stay back for a few days in Dubai until Dravid’s situation gets clear. We have asked Dravid to undergo another test,” he added.
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Dravid's last assignment with the Indian team was their tour of the West Indies and the USA following which he returned back home. Dravid was set to leave for the UAE on Tuesday but he tested positive for the virus. The India head coach has mild symptoms but will have to return a negative test before he can join the rest of the squad for the Asia Cup.
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India will open their Asia Cup 2022 campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai on August 28 (Sunday). Rohit Sharma & Co. will enter the tournament as the defending champions having won the last edition of the competition in 2018.