VVS Laxman to continue as National Cricket Academy head

Former Indian batter VVS Laxman will continue his stint as the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru for at least another year. Laxman's initial three-year contract was from November 2021 until this September.

Questions rose about the 49-year-old continuing in the NCA head role after reports about him being sought after by an IPL franchise for a head coaching role swirled. However, Laxman continuing with the NCA role puts a full stop to the IPL coaching speculations.

Laxman is likely to be assisted by his coaching team - Shitanshu Kotak, Sairaj Bahutule, and Hrishikesh Kanitkar, who are former legends of Indian domestic cricket with the latter two also former Indian players.

Laxman replaced former Indian coach Rahul Dravid in the NCA head role, looking after the processes for injury management, player rehabilitation, and coaching programs for all levels of Indian cricket in his first three-year term from 2021 to now.

VVS Laxman remains one of India's all-time great Test batters, finishing his career with 8,781 runs at an average of almost 46, including 17 centuries in 134 matches.

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VVS Laxman was India's head coach during the recent Zimbabwe tour

VVS Laxman acted as India's head coach during their five-match T20I series in Zimbabwe earlier this year.

Rahul Dravid's head coaching tenure ended after India's triumphant title run in the 2024 T20 World Cup and the newly appointed Gautam Gambhir was set to take over from the Sri Lankan tour. Thus, the board decided that Laxman would oversee the side as the coach for the Zimbabwean tour.

The series started disastrously with the Men in Blue suffering a stunning 13-run defeat in the opening T20I. However, the second-string squad, led by first-time captain Shubman Gill, bounced back in style to win the next four outings.

India defended sizable totals in three out of the final four games and completed a run-chase without losing a wicket in the other to finish the tour with a 4-1 series scoreline.