India’s new head coach Gautam Gambhir will begin his new role with the tour of Sri Lanka, where India will play three T20Is and three ODIs. Before leaving for the tour, Gambhir made a big statement and stated that he had an important role to play and he was looking forward to taking it up.

With veteran players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja retiring from the T20I format after India’s 2024 T20 World Cup victory, Gambhir will have a tough challenge in putting together a squad of players for the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka.

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“I have some very big shoes to fill” – Gautam Gambhir

Before leaving for Sri Lanka, Gautam Gambhir held his first press conference as India coach. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar was also present alongside Gambhir. Agarkar is also scheduled to travel to Sri Lanka with the team to discuss India’s future roadmap for the formats.

“The most important thing for me is that I will always be supported. A happy dressing room is important. I don’t want to complicate things. I am taking charge of a very successful team – the T20 world champions, the WTC runners-up and the ODI World Cup runners-up. The idea is to take it from there,” Gautam Gambhir said at the pre-match press conference alongside Ajit Agarkar.