Cricketer VVS Laxman.
| Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K
Former India cricketer VVS Laxman is set to extend his term as the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru by at least a year according to ESPNcricinfo.
Laxman became the head of the NCA in December 2021 for a period of three years. His contract was set to expire in September this year.
According to ESPNcricinfo, an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise was looking to acquire Laxman’s services, which was not possible because of the duties that he has to look after as the NCA head.
Laxman is likely to be supported by India’s stalwart domestic players as his team of coaches including Shitanshu Kotak, Sairaj Bahutule and Hrishikesh Kanitkar. Laxman’s extension comes in before the inauguration of the new National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
The former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Saurav Ganguly, secretary Jay Shah and Laxman laid the foundation stone for the new facility back in February 2022.
The current campus of NCA, located in Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium in Karnataka, was established in 2000 as a cricket facility of BCCI to train young cricketers identified as potential members of the Indian Cricket Team in future.
It is also used for rehabilitation when players go through an injury. VVS Laxman is the current chief of the NCA.
During his time as the NCA head, Laxman continued the various processes laid by his predecessor, Rahul Dravid.
One of the major challenges for him will be to re-establish the frequency of the India A tour program, which has gradually subdued in the past two years.
Under Dravid’s reign, both home and away tours of India A were quite frequent.
During his playing days, Laxman represented Team India in 134 Tests and garnered 8,781 runs in 225 innings at an average of 45.97.
He also struck 17 centuries and 56 half-centuries with his bat, and his best score in the format stands at 281.He also played 86 ODIs for India, scoring 2,338 runs at an average of 30.76.
He scored six centuries and ten half-centuries in the format, with 131 being his best score.
