India name interim head coach for Asia Cup in Dravid's absence

In Rahul Dravid's absence, VVS Laxman will act as the interim head coach for the Asia Cup. Laxman has assumed the role of head coach in the past, first during India's limited-over tour of Ireland and most recently against Zimbabwe.

Laxman has travelled to UAE from Harare along with vice-captain KL Rahul, Deepak Hooda and Avesh Khan, all of whom were part of the ODI series against Zimbabwe and are in India's Asia Cup squad.

Dravid tested positive for COVID-19 before India's departure to UAE for the Asia Cup but is expected to link up with the squad after returning a negative test and being cleared by the BCCI medical team.

The Indian team reached the UAE on 24 August in preparation for the Asia Cup, which will be played in the T20I format for the second time in the tournament's history. Their campaign begins with the highly anticipated clash against Pakistan on Sunday, 28 August before they play the winner of the qualifier on 31 August.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for Super Four, where each team will play the other three qualified teams. The top two will compete in the Final on 11 September.

The Asia Cup will be the first major tournament for Rohit Sharma after being appointed India's permanent T20I captain in November last year. It will act as a dress rehearsal heading into the T20 World Cup later this year in Australia. Incidentally, India won the last edition of the Asia Cup under Rohit's captaincy as he was filling in for Virat Kohli during the 2018 edition of the tournament.