Reports: BCCI almost certain to finalize Rahul Dravid as coach for India's Sri Lanka tour

Former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid will most probably be the coach for the team on their tour to Sri Lanka as regular coach Ravi Shastri will be away with the squad for the ICC World Test Championship final and the following five-match Test series against England. This is only the second incidence of India playing two series simultaneously.

The Virat Kohli-led side will be in England for close to two months. The squad announced by BCCI is an enlarged one considering protocols, restrictions, and a bio-bubble environment. The BCCI is yet to make an announcement of the squad for the white-ball tour to Sri Lanka, but it is expected that Dravid is almost certain to be in-charge of the relatively young squad.

Dravid’s previous roles as coach

In the past, the former India player was seen with the team during the England tour in 2014. He was the batting consultant of the team and helped the likes of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Murli Vijay to master the art of playing in the swing and seam-friendly conditions in England. BCCI is almost certain to finalize the 48-year-old as the coach of the team and has spoken to him regarding the same, as reported in the Times of India.

The former India captain has a good record while coaching the A and the Under-19 teams. He was first seen in that role in the year 2015 and was re-appointed for two years in the year 2017. Under Dravid’s coaching, India had a good run in the Under-19 tournaments being runners-up in the year 2016 with Ishan Kishan leading. In the year 2018, Dravid’s team led by Prithvi Shaw won the trophy in New Zealand which gave stars such as Shbuman Gill, Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti.

In the recently held Border-Gavaskar series, Dravid was lauded for his work in National Cricket Academy (NCA) and building a strong group of future stars. The likes of Washington Sunder, Shardul Thakur, Gill, and T Natarajan grabbed their chances and played well in India’s historic 2-1 victory without regular players such Virat Kohli, Ravi Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja.