Former India opener Gautam Gambhir is all set to replace Rahul Dravid as Team India’s next head coach. Dravid, whose contract was extended after the ODI World Cup last year, is on his final assignment with the Indian cricket team, i.e., the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and the West Indies.
According to Dainik Jagran, the BCCI on Thursday zeroed in on Gambhir and will announce it officially at the end of this week. The report further stated that the former Indian opener will select his team of support staff, which includes the batting coach, bowling coach and fielding coach.
Currently, Dravid is accompanied by Vikram Rathour as the batting coach, Paras Mhambrey as the bowling coach and T Dilip as the fielding coach. Rathour has been with the team since replacing Sanjay Bangar during Ravi Shastri’s tenure. The rest two – Mhambrey and Dilip – were handpicked by Dravid.
Gambhir may not have prior coaching experience but has been associated with a couple of IP franchises as a mentor. After spending two years with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), he returned to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and guided the Shreyas Iyer-led side to a third title win last month.
As far as the Indian coaching job is concerned, a three-year stint with the team, Gambhir will have to let go of the KKR job.
