In a major development, former India skipper Rahul Dravid has agreed to take over as the head coach of the Indian men’s national cricket team, according to media reports. The former India captain will replace outgoing head coach Ravi Shastri. Dravid, who currently heads the National Cricket Academy (NCA) will take over as the head coach after the T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman, scheduled to be held from October 17 to November 14. “Dravid has confirmed he will be the next head coach of the Indian team. He will be stepping down as the head of the NCA soon,” The Times of India quoted an unnamed BCCI official as saying.

“Dravid has agreed and it cannot get better. The other positions will now be looked into while Vikram (Rathour) stays as the batting coach. The Indian team is in a state of transition with youngsters coming in and they have all worked with Dravid and it will be all the more easier for Indian cricket to continue on its path to become world beaters on the pitch,” news agency ANI quoted a source as saying.

“Jay (Shah) and Sourav (Ganguly) spoke to him and it was about Dravid being convinced because it does need a lot of time as you need to be on the go constantly. But things went well and Dravid has always kept the interest of the Indian cricket on the top so it made things easier as the team would do well to have someone like him guiding the boys,” the source added.

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Current coach Ravi Shastri’s contract ends with the T20 World Cup that gets underway on Sunday. The BCCI is hosting the tournament in Oman and UAE. India will open its T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai. After the upcoming T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli will also be stepping down as the side’s captain in the shortest format.

According to The Times of India, Paras Mhambrey will join Dravid’s staff as the bowling coach of the team.