Indian Cricket Team’s head coach Rahul Dravid tests positive for Covid-19

The Indian Cricket contingent suffered a huge setback before the start of the Asia T20 Championship. The team was expected to fly to Dubai for the grand event starting on August 27, 2022. According to the Indian Cricket Board, the head coach Rahul Dravid has tested positive for Covid-19  in a routine test and won’t be travelling with the team to UAE for the time being. 

Dravid is under the supervision of the Indian Cricket Board’s medical team and has mild symptoms. He will return to steer the squad as soon as his reports turn negative for Covid-19 as confirmed by the Indian Cricket Board. The rest of the Indian squad will assemble in UAE on August 23, 2022. 

VVS Laxman, Head of the National Cricket Academy and the Head Coach of the India U-19 team has always been a notable substitution in the absence of Rahul Dravid. Laxman is currently in Zimbabwe with the Indian team for the three-match ODI series. The Indian Cricket Board is believed to make all arrangements for Laxman’s travel to UAE in absence of Dravid. 

The members of the team for Asia T20 will leave for Dubai on August 23 and the players who are in Harare for the ZIM tour will be flying from there.

Team India will face their arch-rivals Pakistan in their first match of the Asia T20 Campaign on August 28.

India's squad for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan