Gautam Gambhir appointed head coach of Indian mens cricket team
Gautam Gambhir has become the head coach of Team India. BCCI Secretary Jay Shah announced this on Tuesday. 42-year-old Gambhir has replaced Rahul Dravid under whose guidance the men in blue lifted the T20 World Cup in West Indies last month.
Dravid’s tenure ended after the T20 World Cup. Gambhir’s tenure will last till July 2027.
Gambhir made Kolkata Knight Riders the champion of IPL-2024 a month and a half ago. He became the mentor of the Kolkata franchise this year. Not only this, Gambhir, in his mentorship tenure, took Lucknow Super Giants to the playoffs for 2 consecutive seasons.
India is my identity, serving the country is a matter of pride: Gambhir
After being made the head coach, Gautam Gambhir wrote in a social media post – ‘India is my identity and serving the country is a matter of pride for me. I am feeling proud to return to Team India, although the cap will be different, but my goal will be the same as it has always been … to make every Indian proud. The dreams of 140 crore Indians are on the shoulders of the Men in Blue and I will make every effort to fulfill them.’
Gambhir won 2 World Cups and 2 IPLs as a player
Gambhir was part of India’s T20 World Cup win in 2007 and ODI World Cup win in 2011 as a player. He captained KKR for seven IPL seasons from 2011 to 2017 and also qualified for the playoffs five times. As captain, he won two titles in the years 2012 and 2014.
Dravid became the head coach in November 2021
Rahul Dravid was made the head coach of India in November 2021, when Team India was eliminated from the group stage of the T20 World Cup. The team again played the semi-finals in the 2022 T20 World Cup. Dravid’s tenure ended after the ODI World Cup in 2023, but due to Team India reaching the final, his tenure was extended till the T20 World Cup. On June 29, India won the T20 World Cup 2024 by defeating South Africa by 7 runs.
