Here’s what lies ahead for Rahul Dravid’s old guard as the baton is passed to Gautam Gambhir.
It gives me great pleasure to see Gautam Gambhir back at Team India, looking to lead the World Champions. On Tuesday, the two-time World Cup champion was introduced as the Men in Blue’s new head coach. Gambhir has taken over as India’s new head coach, succeeding Rahul Dravid, following a thrilling season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, parting ways with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). In the previous season of the lucrative competition, Gambhir led Shreyas Iyer’s KKR to IPL victory.
As Team India, captained by Rohit Sharma, won the ICC World T20 trophy for a record-tying second time in the Caribbean, David put an end to India’s arduous World Cup drought in his last assignment as head coach. After the ICC event, Gambhir was supposed to take over as head coach of Team India, because Dravid had decided not to continue with the team. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah announced Gambhir’s selection as head coach prior to the Sri Lanka series.
In the Gambhir era, no extensions for Dravid’s old guard?
“We extend our gratitude to Mr. Rahul Dravid and his group of support personnel for their outstanding work and dedication during their time with Team India. The team had incredible success in all formats, and winning the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2024 will live on in the memories of the country for a very long time. The baton now shifts to Mr. Gautam Gambhir, who will take over the position of Head Coach for the upcoming series in Sri Lanka, according to a statement released by Shah.
Along with expressing gratitude to Dravid for developing youthful talent and bringing discipline to the team, the BCCI also announced the departure of bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, fielding coach T. Dilip, and batting coach Vikram Rathour from Team India. Consequently, in his first-ever position as the head coach of the Asian giants, Gambhir will have a new coaching staff.
Abhishek Nayar and Jonty Rhodes were shortlisted?
According to the BCCI, Gambhir would be in charge of the Indian cricket team’s performance and development. In addition to fostering youthful talent and getting the team ready for upcoming challenges on the international scene, the new head coach will prioritize creating a culture of excellence, discipline, and teamwork.
Legendary cricketer Jonty Rhodes of South Africa is reportedly a strong candidate to take over as the Men In Blue’s new fielding coach. Abhishek Nayar is another person that Team India head coach Gambhir might enlist as his assistant. During Gambhir’s return season, the former Mumbai Indians (MI) assistant coach was assigned to the KKR team.