BCCI Secretary Jay Shah on Tuesday (July 9) confirmed Gautam Gambhir as the new head coach of Team India. The former India batsman replaced Rahul Dravid as the head coach.
Dravid’s tenure came to an end after the T20 World Cup final last month. The former India captain was in charge of the team from 2021 till the 2024 T20 World Cup. Now, the onus will be on Gautam Gambhir to extend Dravid’s excellent work as a coach across all formats, especially in T20, where India were crowned world champions last month.
Gambhir had been the favourite for the post for quite some time. He and former India cricketer WV Raman had been interviewed for the position last month. While both had managed to impress the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), Gambhir was the board’s first choice from the beginning.
And Jay Shah has finally confirmed him as the new head coach of the Indian team. The BCCI secretary took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce Gambhir’s appointment as the head coach. Welcoming Gambhir, Shah said that the former India batsman is the ideal person to take Indian cricket forward.
“It is my immense pleasure to welcome Mr. @GautamGambhir as the new Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team,” Shah wrote.
“Modern cricket has evolved rapidly and Gautam has witnessed this changing landscape up close. Having endured the strain and excelled in various roles throughout his career, I am confident that Gautam is the ideal person to take Indian cricket forward.
“His clear vision for #TeamIndia coupled with his vast experience positions him perfectly to take on this exciting and highly sought-after coaching role. The @BCCI fully supports him on this new journey,” he added.
It is a great pleasure for me to welcome Mr. @GautamGambhir as the new head coach of the Indian cricket team. Modern cricket has evolved rapidly and Gautam has witnessed this changing landscape up close. Having endured the strain and excelled in various roles throughout his career… image.twitter.com/bvXyP47kqJ
-Jay Shah (@JayShah) July 9, 2024
Gautam Gambhir’s coaching experience:
Gautam Gambhir is yet to coach a state or national team but has managed to impress everyone with his coaching work in the IPL. He plied his trade as a mentor in the IPL in the last three seasons. In 2022 and 2023, he served as the mentor for the Lucknow Super Giants and helped them qualify for the playoffs in both seasons.
Incidentally, LSG failed to qualify for the playoffs this season without Gambhir in the dugout. For IPL 2024, Gambhir had joined Kolkata Knight Riders and helped them win the tournament for the first time since 2014. Gambhir’s tenure as India’s head coach will begin later this month with the tour of Sri Lanka.
