VVS Laxman to succeed Rahul Dravid as new NCA chief: Reports

Former India batter VVS Laxman is set to succeed Rahul Dravid as the new National Cricket Academy (NCA) chief, according to ANI.

Dravid was recently elevated to the post of the head coach of the Indian team, while Laxman, on the other hand, was the mentor of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) - a position he has to give up in order to take over as the NCA chief.

Laxman has played 134 Tests and 86 ODIs for India, scoring over 11,000 international runs.

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah had earlier said that Laxman was the front-runner for the post. "Sourav and Jay both would love to have Laxman take up the NCA role. But yes, the final call obviously lies with the former India cricketer as he has a young family also. He is undoubtedly a front runner for the role and not to forget how he has been known to share a special bond with now coach Dravid," a source within the BCCI had earlier told ANI. 

"It will be the perfect combination to have those two work together towards taking Indian cricket forward. Nothing like having former cricketers coming on board to help produce the next generation of stars," the BCCI source added.

While taking over as the head coach of the Indian team, Dravid had said that he hopes to build on the good work Ravi Shastri had done over the last few years. 

"It is an absolute honour to be appointed as the new head coach of the Indian cricket team and I am really looking forward to this role. Under Shastri, the team has done very well, and I hope to work with the team to take this forward. Having worked closely with most of the boys either at NCA, U19 and India A setup, I know they have the passion and desire to improve everyday," Dravid had said.

"There are some marquee multi-team events in the next two years, and I look forward to working with the players and the support staff to achieve our potential," he added.

Shastri's tenure as head coach came to an end after India's exit in the T20 World Cup. Virat Kohli too stepped down as India's T20I captain.

Dravid's first assignment will be the three-match T20I home series against New Zealand, starting November 17.