Former India cricketer VVS Laxman will step in as the head coach of the Indian team during their white-ball tour of South Africa next month. India will play four T20Is during the series, which begins on November 8, with Surykaumar Yadav leading the side.

According to a report in Cricbuzz, a top official of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday confirmed the website that Laxman will be named as the stand-in head coach for the South Africa tour. Gautam Gambhir, who suffered his first defeat in a Test series as a head coach on Sunday with New Zealand taking an unassailable 2-0 lead against India in the three-match series, will not be part of the tour as the Rohit Sharma-led side is expected to leave for Perth on November 10 for the five-Test Border-Gavaskar series against Australia.

Laxman will be accompanied by other members of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru - like Sairaj Bahutule, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Subhadeep Ghosh - who will form the coaching staff. The trio recently served as India's coaches in the Asia Emerging Cup tournament in Oman.

The T20I series will be played in Durban, Gqeberha, Centurion and Johannesburg on November 8, 10, 13 and 15 respectively. The Indian team will leave for Durban on November 4.

A 'needless' T20I series?

The four-match contest was initially not part of the international fixture, but was later arranged between the BCCI and Cricket South Africa (CSA). And former India captain Sunil Gavaskar questioned the logic behind having this series amid the ongoing domestic season.

"Next month, there's a needless four-match T20 series in South Africa before the tour to Australia. There will also be an 'A' team touring Australia next month, so effectively about 50 to 60 players will not be available for their State teams in the premier national tournament, the Ranji Trophy," he wrote in Sportstar.

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