VVS Laxman named India men's head coach for Asian Games 2026

MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday announced the appointment of former cricketer VVS Laxman as the head coach of its men's team for the Asian Games 2026 cricket competition, scheduled to be held from September 24 to October 3.

Laxman, who represented India in 134 Tests and 86 ODIs during his glittering international career, will be accompanied by Sunil Joshi, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and the new fielding coach Subhadeep Ghosh.

Notably, the need for a separate coaching staff comes as the Asian Games 2026 cricket competition coincides with India's home ODI series against West Indies, which is slated to run from September 27 to October 3, and will be overseen by the first-choice support staff, led by head coach Gautam Gambhir.

Laxman was also a part of the India men's coaching staff for the previous edition of the Asian Games in 2024, during which they won the gold medal.

The former top-order batter also served as India's head coach for their tour of Zimbabwe earlier this year, and has held several coaching roles with the side since 2022.

For the 10-team men's cricket competition, India, alongside traditional rivals Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, have been given a first-round bye, and thus will start their Asian Games 2026 directly from the quarter-final on September 28, while their opponent for the knockout fixture will be determined after the completion of the group.

Whereas for the women's competition, slated to run from September 19 to October 4, the Indian cricket team will be coached by the regular staff, comprising head coach Amol Muzumdar, bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi and fielding coach Munish Bali.