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Gautam Gambhir, mentor of IPL 2024 champion Kolkata Knight Riders, has given an interview for the head coach of Team India. ESPN Cricinfo reported that Gambhir met members of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) on Tuesday.
This committee includes former cricketers like Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjape and Sulakshana Nayak. It is not yet clear how many applications BCCI has received for this post. The last date for submitting applications was 27th May.
BCCI has been searching for a coach for the Indian team for a long time, because the tenure of the current head coach of the team, Rahul Dravid, is ending after the T20 World Cup.
Gambhir had said- It is an honor to be the coach of Team India.
Gambhir said in a program in Abu Dhabi – I would like to become the coach of the Indian team.
Recently, while answering the child’s question in a private program held in Abu Dhabi, Gambhir had said that it is an honor to be the coach of Team India. I would love to become the coach of the Indian team. There is no greater honor than coaching your national team.
He had said that when you represent the Indian team, you are in the eyes of more than 140 crore Indians across the world. What can be a bigger moment than this for anyone? It is not me who will help India win the World Cup, it is the 140 crore Indians who will help India win the World Cup. If everyone starts praying for us and we start playing with all our hard work.
Gambhir won 2 World Cups as a player and 2 IPLs as captain, also lifted the trophy as a mentor.
42 year old Gambhir was the mentor of Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022 and 2023. He joined KKR in the 2024 season. Gambhir took the team to the playoffs in the first two seasons of his stay at LSG. At the same time, under Gambhir’s mentorship in season 2024, KKR won the title and lifted the IPL trophy.
As a player, Gambhir was part of India’s team that won the T-20 World Cup in 2007 and the ODI World Cup in 2011. He captained KKR for seven IPL seasons from 2011 to 2017. They also qualified for the playoffs five times. As captain, he won two titles in 2012 and 2014. However, he does not have any coaching experience at international or domestic level. He has been in charge of the coaching staff in two IPL franchises.
4 things related to coaching of Team India
1. Many names discussed with Gambhir since IPL
Speculations about Gautam Gambhir becoming the coach of the Indian team are being made since the time of IPL. Apart from Gambhir, there was talk of former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer and Stephen Fleming becoming the Indian coach. According to BCCI rules, if Gambhir becomes the head coach of the team, he will have to leave the mentorship of KKR.
2. The tenure of the new coach will be till 2027.
The new head coach will be selected during the T-20 World Cup. His tenure will start from July 1, 2024 and will last till December 31, 2027. During this period, Team India has to play 5 ICC tournaments. These include Champions Trophy, T-20 World Cup and ODI World Cup along with 2 cycles of World Test Championship.
3. Dravid Became head coach in 2021
BCCI appointed Rahul Dravid as the head coach of India in November 2021. Then Team India was out of the group stage of the T-20 World Cup itself. The team reached the semi-finals in the 2022 T-20 World Cup. Dravid’s tenure was over after the ODI World Cup in 2023, but due to Team India reaching the final, his tenure was extended till the T20 World Cup.
