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Former captain and batting legend Rahul Dravid will coach India's second-string side during their upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. This will be his second stint with the national side after working as a batting consultant for a tour of England in 2014.
Most of India's first-choice players and coaches are set to tour the UK for the World Test Championship Final and a 5-Test series against England in June-September. In the absence of the main backroom staff, Rahul Dravid's name was suggested to support the white-ball specialists in Sri Lanka in July.
Although unsubstantiated reports have been rife in the media since the tour was announced, a BCCI official confirmed the development to news agency ANI on Thursday.
"The Team India coaching staff will be in the UK and it is best that the young team is guided by Dravid as he has already worked with almost all of the India 'A' boys. The comfort the youngsters share with him will be an added advantage," the BCCI official told ANI.
Rahul Dravid, who is currently the head of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, has vast coaching experience with India's 'A' and under-19 sides. The former cricketer is credited for the careers of some of the most exciting youngsters in India and also for fundamentally improving the team's bench strength.
Rahul Dravid's assignment to involve 6 limited-overs matches
Rahul Dravid's first assignment in years will include three ODIs and as many T20Is. The ODIs will be played on July 13, 16, 19 and the T20Is are likely to be played from July 22-27.
The team, which will possibly include names like Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya, among others, is expected to be announced by the end of May.
The players will undergo mandatory quarantine before taking on the field.
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