New Delhi: The announcement of Gautam Gambhir as the new Indian head coach will be done in the last week of June, depending on how Rohit Sharma’s men fare in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 in USA and West Indies. The Men in Blue have already qualified for the Super 8 stage with an unbeaten record in Group A with seven points from four games.
Gambhir’s name has been doing the rounds to replace Rahul Dravid for the top position ever since the news came out that the BCCI had approached the two-time World Cup winner during the Indian Premier League last month. Dravid, who joined as India head coach in 2021, will be stepping down at the conclusion of T20 World Cup 2024.
According to several reports, Gambhir had a few unofficial meetings with the BCCI and it is believed that the former India opener wants his own support staff. Consensus has been reached on this also. India will be playing their Super 8 games on June 20, 22 and 24 in the Caribbean.
It is also likely that along with Gambhir’s announcement, the BCCI will also be naming the squad for the tour of Zimbabwe where India will play five T20Is. The Zimbabwe tour will be Gambhir’s first assignment as India head coach.
For the unknown, although didn’t have a proper coaching experience, he has two back-to-back playoffs entry in IPL and a champions title, all as a mentor. Post retirement, Gambhir returned to the cricketing field when he became the mentor of Lucknow Super Giants in 2022. He guided LSG to playoffs qualification in 2022 and 2023 before winning the IPL with Kolkata Knight Riders last month.
Earlier, Gambhir broke his silence on becoming India’s head coach. “I would love to coach the Indian team. There is no bigger honour than coaching your national team. You are representing 140 crore Indians and those across the globe as well,” Gambhir told PTI.
