rollingstoned Posted January 7 Posted January 7 'Gambhir will be busy': BCCI plans to use VVS Laxman to help India prepare better for Tests Image Credit: PA Images/ Jacob King via Alamy The decision to get the help of VVS Laxman comes after India suffered a second whitewash at home in the span of a year The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to use the services of the head of the Centre of Excellence (CoE) VVS Laxman to help the Indian team prepare better for Tests. This comes weeks after the board rejected reports of the former Indian cricketer being asked about his interest to replace Gautam Gambhir as the head coach. The decision to get the help of Laxman comes after India suffered a second whitewash at home in the span of a year under Gambhir. Laxman to help Team India in Tests As per Times of India, a BCCI source claimed that the board might use the services of Laxman in organising red-ball camps for the Indian team before the Test series. This comes after captain Shubman Gill had reportedly told the board that 15-day red-ball camps were a must for the team before a Test series. The BCCI source pointed out that Gambhir may be busy with white-ball assignments before a Test series and hence Laxman could step in at that time to help the team prepare better. “There may be instances where Gambhir will be busy with white-ball teams even as there may be a Test series approaching. The Board may use the services of CoE cricket head VVS Laxman to organise red-ball camps,” the source said. Gambhir’s tenure as head coach started off on a high note, with India sealing a 2-0 win against Bangladesh. it lasted for a short time as the team then suffered a 0-3 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand following which they lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. In June 2025, Gill and co. managed to draw the series against England 2-2 after which they beat West Indies 2-0 at home. The latest setback came at the hands of South Africa as they thrashed India 0-2. India’s next Test assignment will be in July where they will travel to Sri Lanka for a two-match series.
Manucrick Posted January 7 Posted January 7 Don't know vvs is a good option but gg need to go from test setup raki05 1
Adamant Posted January 7 Posted January 7 I dont think GG is to be blamed here, we need to be patient with our young talent. Sundar needs a stable position, using him as a floater in test format is silly. We havent figured out yet if Sai is Test Class or not, his fc numbers are not great but he has talent, better to let him perform a bit more in FC. Ashwins retirement was a massive moment, we didn’t appreciate him enough, Kuldeep is not as good as him and Jadejas bowling has declined. Sadly, we are not producing enough quality pacers for the long format. The team overall is in transition and needs ample time.
Gollum Posted January 7 Posted January 7 Need special sessions on how to approach 4th innings chases. None better to teach them than Laxman. Number, Lord and Manucrick 3
vvvslaxman Posted January 7 Posted January 7 If they are going to bunsen and burners you might as well pick Varun C for tests. He will be unplayable.
Gollum Posted January 7 Posted January 7 18 minutes ago, vvvslaxman said: If they are going to bunsen and burners you might as well pick Varun C for tests. He will be unplayable. Chepauk often rolls out bunsens for TN's Ranji trophy games. They don't pick Varun....Sai Kishore and Ajith Ram do the job. Let us not mix formats, Varun struggles to finish his quota in ODIs, in tests, even on rank turners he may need to bowl 15 over spells like Harmer did recently.
vvvslaxman Posted January 7 Posted January 7 7 minutes ago, Gollum said: Chepauk often rolls out bunsens for TN's Ranji trophy games. They don't pick Varun....Sai Kishore and Ajith Ram do the job. Let us not mix formats, Varun struggles to finish his quota in ODIs, in tests, even on rank turners he may need to bowl 15 over spells like Harmer did recently. The one where Glen p hilips became Glenlidharan will be aoogd track for him
bowl_out Posted January 7 Posted January 7 Is this the first step to having different red-ball and white-ball coaches?
NameGoesHere Posted January 8 Posted January 8 (edited) My cynical self says this is just an ego saving way of saying that Gambhir isn’t up to the job, but he can’t be sacked. Edited January 8 by NameGoesHere
Lord Posted January 8 Posted January 8 1 hour ago, coffee_rules said: Why not relieve him completely off tests? Will hurt his ego. coffee_rules 1
Number Posted January 9 Posted January 9 It is indeed true. We have so much of white ball cricket with an ICC tournament every year that it is nearly impossible for coaches to give red ball cricket the time it needs. More so when we will have to rebuild the team in next few years it will need special attention in scouting for new talent, following A tours and some domestic competitions. Get a completely new setup for red ball coaching. Make Gambhir white ball coach plus team director (Laxman will report to him) to satisfy his ego.
vvvslaxman Posted January 9 Posted January 9 On 1/7/2026 at 12:09 PM, Lord said: just taking care of Gambhir's ego Wish someone interviews Gambhir, like Nas does with Baz today. Gollum and Lord 1 1
rollingstoned Posted January 9 Author Posted January 9 (edited) Regardless of Gambo it seems from the news that BCCI sees Laxman as a genuine option for tests and are trying to make him change his mind. He might be one of those persons who is a better coach than he comes across as a commentator like Jayasuriya. The well spoken ones are often duds as coaches. Edited January 9 by rollingstoned Gollum and Suhaan 2
Gollum Posted January 9 Posted January 9 19 minutes ago, rollingstoned said: Regardless of Gambo it seems from the news that BCCI sees Laxman as a genuine option for tests and are trying to make him change his mind. He might be one of those persons who is a better coach than he comes across as a commentator like Jayasuriya. The well spoken ones are often duds as coaches. Even I think that VVS will surprise many if given charge in tests. We just need a good fast bowling coach to pair him up with. Anyway not a fan of BCCI cutting off foreign head coach options completely. In other sports, we are benefiting from having foreign coaches/managers. Manucrick and Lord 1 1
Lord Posted January 9 Posted January 9 Hope VVS declines unless he's given full reins. This is just BS
rollingstoned Posted January 9 Author Posted January 9 13 minutes ago, Lord said: Hope VVS declines unless he's given full reins. This is just BS He already declined the full time role, said he is not up for this amount of travelling and engagements. The developmental role he has currently works well for him.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now