Gautam Gambhir is Team India’s new head coach

Gautam Gambhir has been appointed as India’s head coach for a three-and-a-half-year term, succeeding Rahul Dravid. The announcement was made by BCCI secretary Jay Shah on X (formerly Twitter).

“It is with immense pleasure that I welcome Mr GautamGambhir as the new Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team. Modern-day cricket has evolved rapidly, and Gautam has witnessed this changing landscape up close. Having endured the grind and excelled in various roles throughout his career, I am confident that Gautam is the ideal person to steer Indian Cricket forward,” Shah said on X.

“His clear vision for #TeamIndia, coupled with his vast experience, positions him perfectly to take on this exciting and most sought-after coaching role. The @BCCI fully supports him as he embarks on this new journey,” he added.

Gambhir, expressing his gratitude and commitment, said on X, “India is my identity and serving my country has been the greatest privilege of my life. I’m honoured to be back, albeit wearing a different hat. But my goal is the same as it has always been, to make every Indian proud.”

His tenure begins with a white-ball tour of Sri Lanka later this month. The BCCI has yet to confirm whether assistant coaches Vikram Rathour, Paras Mhambrey, and T Dilip will continue.

Gambhir, 42, inherits a team on a high, having reached the finals of both the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup last year, and winning the T20 World Cup 2024. However, the team is transitioning, with retirements of key players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja from T20Is, and others nearing the end of their careers in other formats.

The BCCI had set a deadline for coaching applications as May 27 but had been in discussions with Gambhir during IPL 2024, where he mentored the Kolkata Knight Riders to the title. Previously, he mentored the Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022 and 2023, leading them to playoff qualifications both seasons.

Gambhir, who played crucial roles in India’s 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup victories, expressed his desire to coach the national team at an event in Abu Dhabi on June 1, citing the immense honour of representing 1.4 billion Indians.

He emerged as the frontrunner after VVS Laxman declined interest in the role. Laxman, the current director of cricket at the National Cricket Academy, is coaching India on an interim basis in their T20I series in Zimbabwe. Dravid, who succeeded Ravi Shastri in November 2021, extended his tenure until the end of the T20 World Cup 2024, securing India’s first ICC trophy since 2013…..