India head coach Rahul Dravid and his support staff will be given a break after the ongoing series against West Indies, and the National Cricket Academy (NCA) staff will handle the team's tour of Ireland. Cricbuzz has learnt that Dravid and other members of his coaching staff, including batting coach Vikram Rathour and bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, will return home in August from the United States, where the last two T20Is of the ongoing multi-format series will be played.
The main reason for the coaching staff's rest is to ensure they have enough time to recuperate before the Asia Cup, which starts on August 31, followed by a host of assignments, including a three-match ODI series against Australia, culminating with the World Cup concluding on November 19.The responsibility of handling the team in Ireland will fall in the hands of VVS Laxman, the head of the NCA, and it is likely that he will lead the coaching team with batting and bowling coaches, selected from among Sitanshu Kotak and Hrishikesh Kanitkar (batting) and Troy Cooley and Sairaj Bahutule (bowling). Laxman had previously served as the coach when India toured Ireland for a couple of T20Is last June. The three Twenty20 Internationals in Ireland this time around are scheduled to be played in Dublin on August 18, 20, and 23.Meanwhile, the Asia Cup schedule is expected to be released soon, and contrary to some reports, there have been no changes to the programme. Sri Lanka will host nine games as decided earlier, and the matches are expected to be played in Kandy and Dambulla. Lahore will be the other venue, where four games will be played. The Asia Cup is scheduled to take place in the two countries from August 31 to September 17.
