Sitanshu Kotak replaces VVS Laxman as India's head coach for Ireland T20Is

Former Saurashtra veteran and India A head coach Sitansu Kotak will be heading to Ireland with the Indian squad as head coach for the three T20Is to be played from August 18 to 23.

Head coach Rahul Dravid and his staff including batting coach Vikram Rathour and bowling coach Paras Mhambrey have been rested from the Ireland T20Is, with crucial tournaments like the Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup to be played later this year.

Earlier, National Cricket Academy (NCA) head VVS Laxman was set to be the interim head coach just like he did last year against Ireland. However, the former legendary batter has decided to stay back in Bengaluru for the Emerging camp.

This gave the batting coach at the NCA, Sitanshu Kotak, the opportunity to fill in while Dravid and Co. are rested. He has decent experience, having already been the A-side's head coach for a couple of years.

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Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna's performances crucial for India

Arguably one of the biggest reliefs that the Men in Blue could have had amidst the injury woes was when Jasprit Bumrah was deemed fit and named the captain of the side for the T20Is against Ireland.

The speedster has been out of action for almost a year and seems to have come back just in time with a crucial three-month period ahead for Team India in ODIs. Alongside him, Prasidh Krishna might also be another bowler whom the Men in Blue would want to monitor and potentially take as a back-up into the Asia Cup.

Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Tilak Varma, and others will use this opportunity to showcase their talent and perhaps make a strong case for themselves in India's first-choice white-ball squads in the near future.

Squad for Ireland T20Is: 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.