VVS Laxman has been appointed as the head coach of India men’s cricket team for Asia Games, 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. Since the Asian Games cricket schedule overlaps with India’s home ODI series against the West Indies, the former India batter will be heading a separate coaching group.
Supporting Laxman would be former India spinner Sunil Joshi, Hrishikesh Kanitkar (India Under-19 head coach) and newly appointed fielding coach Subhadeep Ghosh. The appointments were made official in a circular by India’s Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on September 2.
The appointment of a separate coaching staff is associated with the clash in schedule. The three-match ODI series against the West Indies has been extended from September 27 to October 3, while the cricket event at the Asian Games will be held from Sept. 17-Oct. The two campaigns will run simultaneously during which Gautam Gambhir and the regular senior men’s coaching staff will stay with the ODI squad in India.
The men’s team has also gotten a first-round bye at the Asian Games, where it will open its campaign in the quarter-finals on September 28. Shreyas Iyer will lead the side, with Tilak Varma appointed as his deputy. The combined arms of experience and youth with Jasprit Bumrah and emerging batting talent in Vaibhav Sooryavanshi makes India a formidable unit.
Laxman is already used to the environment of the Asian Games. He was part of the India men’s hockey coaching setup which had bagged a gold medal at the 2024 Asian Games. Since 2022, when the national side regular coaching staff became unavailable, he has also taken charge of the national side on several occasions. He has previously been in charge during India’s limited-overs series abroad.
Indian women’s team plays the 2026 Asian Games with a regular set of coaching staff. Head coach: Amol Muzumdar, bowling coach: Aavishkar Salvi, fielding: Munish Bali Note: India women also win Asian Games gold-medal winners in 2024. The side will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur and they have appointed Smriti Mandhana as vice-captain.
Laxman gets another chance to be in the frontline of Indian T20I players on an international stage. India will field a strong line-up as the defending champions at the Asian Games and there are high hopes from them. The Indian men’s cricket team, that may need to defend its gold medal in Aichi-Nagoya, too might value his experience and knowledge of several players.