Jasprit Bumrah & Co will have a new head coach for IND vs IRE T20 Series. With VVS Laxman missing the India vs Ireland three-match T20 series, Sitanshu Kotak will temporarily take charge. Laxman was supposed to accompany the team as Rahul Dravid and his staff will be on a week-long break before Asia Cup 2023 camp. However, as Laxman will be overseeing the Emerging camp at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, he will miss out on the assignment. The series starts on August 18.
Sitanshu Kotak is currently India A head coach as well as batting coach at the NCA. He will leave for Dublin along with Jasprit Bumrah on Tuesday. Sairaj Bahutule will be the bowling coach for the series.
Also Read: No Laxman, Jasprit Bumrah & Co without head coach for IND vs IRE series
Who is Sitanshu Kotak?
Sitanshu Kotak has been a renowned coach and player in domestic circuit. With over 8000 runs in First Class and 3000 runs in List A cricket, Kotak made a name for himself for Saurashtra in domestic cricket.
After Rahul Dravid became the head NCA in 2019, Kotak took over as the India A coach. He has earlier been with Team India on New Zealand and Ireland tours.
Break for Rahul Dravid & Co
Head coach Rahul Dravid, batting coach Vikram Rathour and bowling coach Paras Mhambrey will return home from Florida after IND vs WI T20 series.
They will have a week-long break before joining the Asia Cup 2023 camp at the NCA on August 23. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and others will also attend the camp.
Squad to leave in separate batches
Meanwhile, Team India will travel in two separate batches for IND vs IRE series. One batch will leave for Ireland on Tuesday from Mumbai. The first batch will include captain Jasprit Bumrah and those who are not part of the IND vs WI squad.
The next batch will fly directly to Ireland’s capital Dublin from Florida. The second batch will include Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma and Yashasvi Jaiswal among others who are part of the squad that will play the last two T20s against West Indies in Florida.
India squad for Ireland series: Jasprit Bumrah (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan
IND vs IRE T20 Series Schedule
| Date | Match | Venue | Time |
| Aug-18 | 1st T20I | Malahide, Dublin | 7:30 PM IST |
| Aug-20 | 2nd T20I | Malahide, Dublin | 7:30 PM IST |
| Aug-23 | 3RD T20I | Malahide, Dublin | 7:30 PM IST |
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