Laxman Head Coach For South Africa T20Is

V V S Laxman will step in as head coach of the Indian team for the T20 Internationals against South Africa starting next month.

According to Cricbuzz, Laxman -- who heads the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru -- will travel with the Suryakumar Yadav-led team for the four match T20I series starting in Durban on November 8.

India will play the other three T20Is in Gqeberha, Centurion and Johannesburg on November 10, 13 and 15 respectively.

Since Head Coach Gautam Gambhir will travel to Australia with the Rohit Sharma-led Test team on November 10, he will not be available to coach the T20I team for the series that will go on till November 15.

The T20I series has come under criticism from Sunil Gavaskar, who termed it a 'needless' series.

In his column for Sportstar magazine, Gavaskar wrote: '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.'