NCA coaches Sitanshu Kotak, Sairaj Bahutule, Munish Bali to assist VVS Laxman on India's Ireland tour

As the Indian squad gears up for the forthcoming Ireland series, the VVS Laxman-coached side will have NCA coaches Sitanshu Kotak, Sairaj Bahutule, and Munish Bali on the staff as the trio will assist Laxman over the course of the two T20Is. While Kotak will be in charge of the batting department, Bahutule and Bali will be responsible for the bowling and fielding duties respectively.

Kotak has been with the Indian A side previously, whereas Bahutule and Bali have assisted the Indian Under-19 team when they emerged victorious in the World Cup earlier this year. The head coach Laxman and all three members of the support staff hold a great amount of experience on the field, and expectations are pretty high from them.

The Indian squad is yet to be announced by the BCCI. While India is playing a five-match T20I series against South Africa currently, the team is also set to fly to the UK to face England in a Test, followed by a T20I and ODI series. Thus, with the senior members of the team contesting against the English team, VVS Laxman will be probably given a team with a bunch of new faces. The Indian team for the England series will be coached by Rahul Dravid.

The Ireland series scenario will be similar to last year’s setup when Dravid was given charge of the Indian team for their bilateral series against Sri Lanka while the then head coach Ravi Shastri was with the senior team in England. The squad details for the two T20Is against Ireland in Dublin, scheduled for June 26 and 28, are yet to be announced, but there are high chances of the several IPL stars making a debut on the global platform.

India’s tour of England is scheduled from July 1 to July 17

Meanwhile, the senior members of the Indian team are scheduled to leave for the UK this month in order to get started with their rescheduled Test match of the Pataudi Trophy 2021/22 from last year, which begins on July 1 at Edgbaston in Birmingham. After the conclusion of the Test match, the two teams will contest in three T20Is at The Rose Bowl (Southampton), Edgbaston (Birmingham), and Trent Bridge (Nottingham) followed by three ODIs at The Oval, Lord’s (London) and Old Trafford (Manchester).