India give head coach Rahul Dravid a break, VVS Laxman to coach for New Zealand tour

India head coach Rahul Dravid has been given a break post their T20 World Cup campaign and VVS Laxman is set to travel with the team for their upcoming tour of New Zealand.

New Zealand and India are scheduled to play three T20Is and three One-Day Internationals (ODIs). The shortest-format series will take place first, starting on Nov. 18.

Both New Zealand and India lost their semi-final fixtures in the T20 World Cup 2022. Pakistan defeated the BlackCaps in Sydney, while England thrashed India by 10 wickets in Adelaide.

India's senior players including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, opening batsman KL Rahul, and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin have been rested for the tour.

"The NCA team headed by Laxman with Hrishikesh Kanitkar (batting) and Sairaj Bahutule (bowling) will join the New Zealand-bound squad," a BCCI source told PTI.

This is not the first time that Laxman will be in charge of the Indian cricket team. The National Cricket Academy (NCA) chief previously coached India during the tours of Zimbabwe and Ireland and the recent ODI home series against South Africa.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya will lead India in the T20I series, with matches to be played in Wellington (Nov. 18), Mount Maunganui (Nov. 20) and Napier (Nov. 22). Meanwhile, senior opener Shikhar Dhawan will captain the ODI side against the Kiwis. The ODI games will be played in Auckland (Nov. 25), Hamilton (Nov. 27) and Christchurch (Nov. 30).

Meanwhile, India's Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav are among the players to have been nominated by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the Player of the Tournament award for the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022. The other seven nominees are Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka), Shadab Khan (Pakistan), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan), Jos Buttler (England), Sam Curran (England), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe) and Alex Hales (England).