Gautam Gambhir will be India’s next head coach, succeeding Rahul Dravid , who ended his tenure at the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2024. BCCI secretary Jay Shah made the announcement via X (formerly Twitter)
The BCCI had earlier said the new head coach would be appointed from July for a term of three and a half years until December 2027 and would be in charge of the team across all three formats.
While the BCCI had advertised for candidates for the role and set a deadline for applications as May 27, the board had held discussions with Gambhir during IPL 2024, where he was Kolkata Knight Riders’ mentor during their run to the title.
Before joining KKR in November 2023, Gambhir had been mentor at Lucknow Super Giants during IPL 2022 and 2023, helping them qualify for the playoffs in both seasons. These are the only coaching roles he has had since the end of his playing career. During his India career, Gambhir played crucial roles in winning the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup, top-scoring for India in the finals of both tournaments. He also captained KKR to two IPL titles, in 2012 and 2014.
He had requested for time to make a decision during IPL 2024, but once the season was over he expressed his desired coach in india at an event in Abu Dhabi on June 1.https://x.com/jayshah/status/1810682123369816399?s=46&t=d2lg7B9TG9EeS-CeqJ-DCQ
“Look, I would love to coach the Indian team,” Gambhir said, when asked by a youngster whether he would help India win the World Cup. “There is no bigger honour. There is no bigger honour than coaching your national team. You are representing 140 crore Indians. And more across the globe as well. And when you represent India, how can it get bigger than that?
“How can I help India win the World Cup – I think it’s not me that will help India win the World Cup, it is 140 crore Indians that will help India win the World Cup. If everyone starts praying for us, and we start playing and representing them, India will win the World Cup. The most important thing is to be fearless and yes, I would love to coach India.”
The 42-year-old Gambhir became the frontrunner to succeed Dravid especially after his former India team-mate VVS Laxman told BCCI he was not interested in the job. Laxman is currently the director of cricket at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, and is coaching India on an interim basis during their ongoing five-match T20I series in Zimbabwe.
Dravid took over from Ravi Shastri after the T20 World Cup in November 2021 for two years until the 2023 ODI World Cup. He then agreed to the BCCI’s request to extend his tenure until the end of the T20 World Cup 2024, and helped India lift their first ICC trophy since 2013.
Story copied from ESPN cricinfo