Reports: Rahul Dravid set to miss Asia Cup following positive Covid-19 test

The Indian team completed another series triumph after winning the series finale against Zimbabwe in Harare on Monday, 22nd August. But the Men in Blues have suffered a huge blow ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup in UAE as the latest reports suggest that the Indian head coach Rahul Dravid is unlikely to be part of the Indian team after testing positive for Covid-19.

Rahul Dravid was not part of the Indian setup on the tour of Zimbabwe as VVS Laksman was named the stand-in head coach for the three-match ODI series in the African nation, and after the news broke about Dravid’s positive Covid result, Laksman will likely continue with his role in the Asia Cup.

Notably, India are already without the services of ace bowling pair of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel, who were ruled out of the tournament due to unfortunate injuries. Dravid’s omission will mean that the Indian team will head into the continental tournament without some of their most influential personnel in the team.

Although KL Rahul made his return to the side after recovering from the virus himself, he hasn’t looked like himself and was sluggish in his innings in the third ODI against Zimbabwe. He will most likely open the innings for the Indian team with the returning skipper Rohit Sharma.

VVS Laxman will likely continue his coaching stint with the senior team heading into the Asia Cup

The former Indian head coach’s omission will be a cause for concern for the team management as he has been quite influential in his role of keeping things calm and maintaining a healthy environment in the dressing room amidst cut-throat competition for places in the national team.

But the Indian team has done well under the tutelage of interim coach VVS Laxman, who guided a relatively young Indian team to an impressive clean sweep in the three-match ODI series against hosts Zimbabwe. The current National Cricket Academy (NCA) chief was also in charge of the national team on their tour of Ireland this year and will look to extend his winning run with the team in the Asia Cup opener against arch-rivals Pakistan on the 28th of August.