Dravid and his coaching staff to skip South Africa ODIs

India's head coach Rahul Dravid, batting coach Vikram Rathour, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey and fielding coach T Dilip won’t be part of the three-match One-Day International series against South Africa, the BCCI announced on Saturday (December 16). 

They will instead oversee the three-day inter-squad match to be played at Pretoria from December 20 to 22.

Sitanshu Kotak will lead the coaching staff, acting as the batting coach, and will work with KL Rahul and his men during the ODI series. Rajib Dutta will work as the bowling coach, while Ajay Ratra will be the fielding coach. 

The first ODI will be played in Johannesburg on Sunday (December 17) before the action shifts to Gqeberha (December 19) and Paarl (December 21) respectively.

It’s being reported that Dravid wants to focus on the red-ball format and help India win their first Test series in South Africa, which is part of the World Test Championship. 

The opening Test will be played in Centurion from December 26, while the second will be in Cape Town from January 3.

In the last Test series in 2021-22, India won the first Test but then went on to lose the next two, conceding the series 1-2.