India will travel to South Africa for a four-match T20I series after the conclusion of the Test series against New Zealand. The Test series will end on November 5 while the T20I series will kick off on November 8. VVS Laxman will reportedly take over as the head coach in the series and fill in for Gautam Gambhir.

Laxaman has often coached India when they are without the services of their regular head coach. Once again, the Indian legend will don the head coach's hat. So why Gambhir will not travel to South Africa? And will other members of his coaching staff also miss the series? Here we have a look at the reason behind Gambhir's absence from the SA tour -

Gautam Gambhir will miss the India-South Africa T20I series due to Team India's Test commitments. The Test-bound players will leave for Australia for the all-important Border-Gavaskar Trophy on November 10. The second T20I between India and South Africa is also scheduled to be played on the same day.

Since Test cricket is always a priority for every team, Gambhir and his coaching staff will turn their attention towards the BGT and will travel to Australia. The much-awaited five-match Test series is scheduled to kick off on November 22.

A week before the Test series, Rohit Sharma-led India will face Ruturaj Gaikwad's India A in a warm-up match in Perth. Gambhir and other coaches will pay close attention to this game as India's playing XI could be decided on the basis of players' performance in this fixture.

Talking of Laxman, he first coached India on a stand-in basis during the Ireland tour in 2022. Rahul Dravid and his coaching staff were working with the team for the one-off Test match against England.

Laxman was expected to replace Dravid as the head coach following the end of his contract but he reportedly wanted to continue to work at the National Cricket Academy, which is now known as the BCCI Centre of Excellence.

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