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Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has been officially appointed as the new Team India head coach by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday. Gambhir succeeded his ex-India teammate Rahul Dravid, whose stint as a head coach came to an end after guiding the Team India to T20 World Cup 2024 triumph by defeating South Africa in the final last month
Gambhir was a front-runner to take up the head coach role given his experience in mentoring Lucknow Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Under his mentorship, KKR clinched the third IPL title by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final in the last season.
The BCCI secretary Jay Shah took to his X handle (formerly Twitter) and confirmed the appointment of Gautam Gambhir as the next head coach of Team India, stating that Gambhir is an 'ideal person' to steer Indian cricket team given the changing landscape of modern-day cricket.
Gautam Gambhir gave his first reaction to his appointment as the head coach, stating that he felt honoured to return to be back to Team India in a different capacity and added that he will ensure all the dreams of the Men in Blue come true.
"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. The men in blue shoulder the dreams of 1.4 billion Indians and I will do everything in my power to make these dreams come true!" Gambhir said.
Following the appointment of Gautam Gambhir as the head coach, the Indian cricket fraternity gave their reactions to the news. Former and current Indian cricketers, including Navjot Singh Sidhu, Harbhajan Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Nitish Rana, Anil Kumble and well-known cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle lauded the BCCI's decision to appoint Gambhir as the Team India head coach, believing that he is the right person to lead the forward with the deep understanding of the game.
Here's how Indian cricket fraternity reacted
Gautam Gambhir was one of the best openers for Team India. The 42-year-old was part of the Men in Blue that won the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup. He played a match-winning innings in both the finals, scoring 75 and 97, respectively.
In international cricket, Gautam Gambhir amassed 10234 runs, including 20 centuries and 63 fifties, at an average of 38.95 in 242 matches.
Gautam Gambhir will assume his coaching duties from Sri Lanka tour
Gautam Gambhir will officially take up coaching duties from Sri Lanka tour, which includes 3 T20Is and as many ODI matches starting on July 27. VVS Laxman, the head coach of National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, is currently of Team India in the ongoing five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe.
Gautam Gambhir's big assignments will be three-match Test series against New Zealand in October, followed up with Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia in November.
During his stint as a coach, Gautam Gambhir will be guiding India in the 2025 Champions Trophy, 2026 T20 World Cup and 2027 ODI World Cup.
Just like he performed on the field, Gautam Gambhir will look to bring his strategic acumen and winning mentality into his coaching role, aiming to lead Team India in major bilateral series and international tournaments.
