The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia on September 3 announced that there will be no appointment of a Director of Cricket. After the BCCI review meeting, Saikia dismissed reports of Centre of Excellence (CoE) head VVS Laxman taking over as Director of Cricket, a position that doesn’t exit. Reportedly, Laxman as Director of Cricket, was expected to streamline communication between CoE and selectors, team management.
But, Saikia revealed that BCCI's search for head of sports science who will work under CoE head Laxman is currently underway.
“I would like to reiterate that the vacant position of the head of sports science at the CoE is not a deterrent to our activities. That post is required, but it is a very high-level post. For that, proper qualified persons are needed. We have about 16 persons in place to maintain the fitness and rehab facilities, but to supervise that, one important person is required. We are trying to find that person,” Saikia told the reporters after the meeting.
Laxman as head coach for Asian Games 2026
Laxman will once again serve as stand-in coach in Gautam Gambhir’s absence. He will travel to Japan for Asian Games 2026 with Shreyas Iyer-led T20I side. He will be accompanied by his coaching staff – Sunil Joshi, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Subhadeep Ghosh – to Aichi-Nagoya.
Earlier this year, the duo of Laxman and Iyer registered a series whitewash on Zimbabwe soil. Before that, Iyer’s T20I captaincy got off to a disastrous start with series losses to Ireland and England, registering not a single win on UK tour. Meanwhile, Gambhir will be with Shubman Gill-led ODI team for a three-ODI series against West Indies which starts on September 27.