Dravid convinces Laxman to become NCA head in Bengaluru

By NT Correspondent

Former India batter VVS  Laxman will be the next  head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), a senior  BCCI official confirmed on  Sunday.

Indian cricket is having a  complete overhaul of their  coaching staff as well as  their management. If the  reports are to be believed,  VVS Laxman apparently  was the front-runner to take  up this role. According to  reports, the former Indian  batter was unwilling to take  up the responsibility but he  was convinced by Dravid to  take up this role.

Laxman will take over  from his former batting colleague Rahul Dravid, who  was recently appointed as  chief coach of the Indian  team following the end of  Ravi Shastri’s tenure.

Laxman has already quit  his role as a mentor of the  IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad and will also not be  part of any commentary  panel or write columns for  newspapers to avoid conflict of interest clause violation.

It is understood that Laxman’s appointment will  come into effect before the  BCCI’s Annual General  Meeting (AGM), scheduled  to be held in Kolkata on December 4.

Laxman had initially declined the BCCI’s offer as he  was reluctant to shift base  from Hyderabad as the NCA  job will require him to stay  in Bengaluru for a minimum of 200 days.

The two stalwarts of Indian cricket -- Laxman and  Dravid -- will now work in  tandem as the BCCI wants  smooth coordination between the India chief coach  and the NCA head.

As part of his job, Laxman will also oversee  preparations of the India  U-19 and ‘A’ teams which  are pathways to the senior  level.  (With inputs from agencies)