On Tuesday, July 9, the BCCI confirmed Gautam Gambhir as the new coach of the Indian team. The former opener succeeded Rahul Dravid as the coach of the team.
Dravid was the team’s head coach from 2021 until last month’s T20 World Cup. His original contract ended after last year’s ODI World Cup but the BCCI managed to convince him to extend his stay by a few months.
With Dravid at the helm, Team India enjoyed good success across all formats. They reached the finals of all three ICC competitions across all formats with Dravid as the head coach. Last year, India reached the finals of the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup, though they ended up losing both matches against Australia.
Last month, India finally ended their long wait for an ICC trophy by winning the T20 World Cup. The onus of ensuring that Team India stays on track and continues to perform well across all formats will fall on Gautam Gambhir.
“It is my immense pleasure to welcome Mr. @GautamGambhir as the new Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team,” BCCI Secretary Jay Shah wrote on X.
Abhishek Nayar and Vinay Kumar to join Gautam Gambhir?
Now that Gautam Gambhir has been confirmed as the team’s head coach, the BCCI will look to finalise the names of the other members of the support squad. Apart from Dravid, batting coach Vikram Rathour, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey and fielding coach T Dilip have also parted ways with the team.
According to recent media reports, the BCCI will invite applications for the posts soon, though Gautam Gambhir has been given a free hand to choose his own support staff.
According to Dainik Jagran’s Abhishek Tripathi, Gambhir has requested former Indian cricketers Abhishek Nayar and Vinay Kumar to be the batting and bowling coaches respectively. He further claimed that the BCCI is yet to take a final decision on the matter.
“Abhishek Nair has been asked to be the batting coach and Vinay Kumar to be the bowling coach. It is not known whether this will happen or not,” Tripathi wrote on X.
There has been a demand for Abhishek Nair as batting coach and Vinay Kumar as bowling coach. I don’t know if it will be completed or not.
— Abhishek Tripathi / Abhishek Tripathi (@abhishereporter) July 9, 2024
Neither Nayar nor Kumar have been coaches of any state or national team, but they have ample experience. Nayar has plied his trade as an assistant coach for Kolkata Knight Riders and has received praise from all sides for his work. Earlier this year, he and Gambhir worked together for the IPL team. Vinay Kumar, on the other hand, has served as the bowling coach for MI Emirates in the UAE ILT20 in the past.
