KOLKATA, May 5: India captain Rahul Dravid suffered a head injury at practice on Saturday, two days before the team are due to leave for their tour of Bangladesh. Dravid was hit in the face by a short ball from seamer Rudra Pratap Singh while batting at the preparatory camp.

The 34-year-old was struck through the gap between the helmet visor and grille while trying to sway away from a short delivery. He was bleeding profusely and was taken to hospital.

A board spokesman said the injury was not serious.

“His condition has been diagnosed as 'nose trauma',” the spokesman told reporters. “He was hit on the grille and the ball grazed his nose. There was no cut, just bruises. It is not serious.”

Dravid has been advised complete rest for the next 24 hours.

The selection committee did not name a vice-captain for the tour, with senior batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly rested from the one-day side but retained for the Tests.

India, who suffered a shock exit in the first round of the World Cup, play a three-match one-day series against Bangladesh starting in Dhaka on Thursday followed by two Tests.

Meanwhile, Former England batsman Geoff Boycott believes Dravid needs to be more assertive for the team to rediscover success.

“Rahul Dravid is a superb batsman, a lovely lad who nobody dislikes but he needs to stand up and take charge,” Boycott said on Saturday. “He is not a born leader.

“A strong leader is a must. India's best period in recent years has been with a strong captain Ganguly and a nice man behind the scenes in John Wright.

“They complemented each other,” Boycott wrote in Mumbai daily DNA on Saturday of the previous captain-coach combination when New Zealander Wright served as India's first foreign coach for almost five years.

The Indian board is looking for Greg Chappell's successor after the Australian resigned as coach following the team's first-round exit in the World Cup in the Caribbean.

“A coach can help with motivation, shaping a player's batting or bowling plus organisation, but in the end, the captain should be the guy pulling the strings.

Dravid was retained as skipper for the next three series, starting with the tour of Bangladesh which starts on Thursday, with former India captain Ravi Shastri appointed cricket manager.

“Finding another coach is not the panacea to building a great side. I don't think it matters whether a coach is from India or abroad. For me, too much is made of the role of the coach,” Boycott said.

“India have just had a strong coach in Greg Chappell and a nice man in as captain (Dravid). It doesn't work as well.”—Reuters