Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Saturday justified India's choice to rest head coach Rahul Dravid, claiming that physical and mental stress prior to and during the ICC T20 World Cup is the reason India has a completely different team and coaching staff for the New Zealand tour.
VVS Laxman, the current head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and a former Indian batter, is the head coach of the Indian squad, which is captained by all-rounder Hardik Pandya and lacks veterans such as regular skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, and Ashwin himself.
"I will explain why Laxman has gone there with a completely different team because even that could be interpreted differently. Rahul Dravid and his team put in extensive hard work ahead of the T20 World Cup, right from planning, since I saw this from close quarters, I'm saying this. They had specific in-depth plans for each venue and each opposition. So they would have been under not only mental but also physical burnout and everyone needed a break. As soon as the New Zealand series ends, we have the Bangladesh tour. That's why we have a different coaching staff led by Laxman for this tour," said Ashwin.
Ashwin's remarks come after former India head coach and Dravid's predecessor Ravi Shastri questioned the need for head coach rest during the "two-three months" of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
"I don't believe in breaks. I want to understand my team and players, and then be in control of that team. What do you need that many breaks for, to be honest? You get your two-three months of the IPL, that’s enough for you to rest as a coach. But other times, I think a coach should be hands-on, whoever he is," Ravi Shastri told a select group of journalists during a call organised by Prime Video.
Dravid was also rested during tour of Zimbabwe earlier this year. Prior to that, he and other senior players were part of a different camp that traveled to England to play the postponed fifth and final Test against England, while VVS and a second-string side traveled to Ireland for a two-match T20I series.
India's current tour of New Zealand includes three Twenty20 Internationals and three One-Day Internationals, the last of which will be played on November 30. Four days later, the team will be in Bangladesh, with Dravid at the helm again, for a three-ODI and two-Test series.
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