Dravid to assist Indian team in England

Batting great Rahul Dravid will join the Indian team in an advisory role to prepare for the tour of England. He will be with the team till the start of the first Test July 9.

"Rahul Dravid, former India captain, has accepted a request from the Indian team management, to support and advise the team in its preparatory stages of the tour of England, given his vast experience and knowledge of the game," Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Sanjay Patel said in a statement Sunday.

"He will be with the team till the beginning of the first Test."

India have already played a warm-up three-day match against Leicestershire (June 26-28) and will take on Derbyshire in another practice game July 1-3.

India will then play five Test matches against England from July 9 to Aug 19 followed by five One-Day Internationals (ODI) from Aug 19 to Sep 5 and a lone Twenty20 International at Birmingham Sep 7.

The last time India visited England in 2011, they miserably lost the four Test series 0-4 which was followed by their 1-2 loss at home in 2012-13.

Dravid was India's best batsman in the 2011 tour with 461 runs, three centuries and a staggering average of 76.83.