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India news – NCA – VVS Laxman frontrunner to replace Rahul Dravid as National Cricket Academy director
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If he takes up the job, Laxman will have to give up the role of Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor, as well as that of commentator and analyst
The BCCI is looking at VVS Laxman as its favoured candidate to head the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore, following Rahul Dravid‘s elevation as head coach of the national men’s team. ESPNcricinfo understands that Laxman, who is currently in the UAE working as a commentator and analyst for the T20 World Cup for the host broadcaster, is awaiting clarity on his role and other details from the board before deciding on the move.
Dravid resigned from his position as the NCA director last month following a two-year term, in which he put in place processes for injury management, player rehabilitation, coaching programmes and preparing roadmaps for age-group and women’s cricket.
The NCA head will have to be be based in Bengaluru. The academy is already headquartered in the city – at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium premises – and the BCCI is set to construct a new, state-of-the-art facility on the outskirts of the city for it in the coming days. If Laxman does take over, it will mean moving base from Hyderabad, his hometown.
Laxman is currently mentor of IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad, apart from being a commentator and cricket analyst. Till earlier this year, Laxman also served as batting consultant to the Cricket Association of Bengal. He held the position for six years, after being brought on by Sourav Ganguly – his former India team-mate and captain, and the then Cricket Association of Bengal joint secretary – for the association’s ambitious Vision 2020 project that aimed at making Bengal a force in domestic cricket again.
If Laxman does take up the NCA role, he would have to give up all of those positions to avoid any conflict-of-interest issues – a former player is barred from holding more than one position within the BCCI framework simultaneously.
More to follow…
