With Team India facing a near-classic scheduling dilemma, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has once again activated their contingency plan. As the Men in Blue prepare to face the West Indies in a home ODI series (September 27 to October 3) and the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan (September 24 to October 3), VVS Laxman will lead the side in his capacity as head coach for the continental event.
While main head coach Gautam Gambhir will accompany the ODI squad back home, the former India batting great will travel to Japan with a support staff that includes his counterparts Sunil Joshi, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, and fielding coach Subhadeep Ghosh.
The Go-To Troubleshooter: VVS Laxman
Like any seasoned hand, Laxman has taken charge at crucial junctures in India's tightly packed schedule with a certain élan. He was the first man to step up when the tour of Ireland came up in June 2022, and has been a stand-in coach on several other occasions since then.
VVS Laxman's status as the go-to troubleshooter has been earned on the field, with consistent results in limited overs and Tests.
Here's a look at his record as stand-in head coach of the Indian men's team:
Ireland (June 2022): Led the Test specialists to a 2-0 T20I series win in Dublin, while Rahul Dravid looked after the rescheduled Test in Birmingham.
Zimbabwe (August 2022): Took charge of the 3-0 ODI series win in Harare.
Asia Cup (2022): Deputed for Dravid in Dubai, while the latter was in isolation due to COVID-19.
New Zealand (November 2022): Came in as the stand-in coach after the T20 World Cup, and steered the visitors to a 1-0 T20I series win in Auckland.
Australia at home (late 2023): Oversaw a 4-1 T20I series win straight after the ODI World Cup.
Zimbabwe and South Africa tours (2024–26): Made multiple appearances as the main coaching staff were occupied with the red-ball rubber, including a 3-0 T20I series win in Harare.
Also, it was Laxman who guided the men's team to the gold medal in the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, which made his reappointment for the Aichi-Nagoya World Games a formality.
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A Star-Studded Squad for Gold
Despite the split-squad arrangement, India A has a strong squad that it hopes will help it retain its Asian Games title. Led by Shreyas Iyer and featuring Tilak Varma as his deputy, the squad has a potent top order and a fearful bowling attack.
Batters & All-rounders: Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar.
Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi.
Stability for the Women's Campaign
While the men's setup splits resources, the Indian women's cricket team will head to Japan with its core coaching structure fully intact. Head coach Amol Muzumdar will lead the campaign alongside bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi and fielding coach Munish Bali.
Harmanpreet Kaur will captain a full-strength women's side with Smriti Mandhana as her deputy as India goes for a double gold sweep in Aichi-Nagoya.