BCCI appoints Gautam Gambhir as Head Coach of Men’s Cricket Team
Appointment
5 min read
The 2007 T 20 World Cup and 2011 One Day International (ODI) World Cup winning Indian men’s cricket team member Gautam Gambihir has been appointed as the new head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team. This was announced by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah on X (formerly twitter) on 9 July 2024.
Gambhir will replace Rahul Dravid who stepped down from his post following the victory of the Indian team in the 9th ICC T20 World Cup held in West indies and the United States of America. Rahul Dravid was appointed the head coach for a three year term in 2021.
Gambhir beats W. V. Raman for the post
The BCCI set up a three member Advisory Committee to select the candidate for the post of head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team. The Advisory Committee was headed by former Indian cricket player Ashok Malhotra.
Only two candidates, Gautam Gambir and former Indian cricketer W.V. Raman, applied for the post. The committee recommended the name of Gautam Gambhir for the post of head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team.
Term of Gautam Gambhir as Head Coach
Gautam Gambhir has been appointed by the BCCI for a term of three years. Gambhir will officially begin his tenure in July this year when the Indian cricket team visits Sri Lanka for a limited overs One Day International series. He will remain in charge of the Indian team till the end of 31 December 2027.
During his term India will play in the 10thT20 World Cup to be co hosted by India and Sri Lanka in 2026 and the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup to be co-hosted by South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
India is also scheduled to participate in the 9th ICC Champions Trophy to be held in Pakistan in 2025.
India is set to play 10 Test matches in the next six months and if India qualify then India will play in the final of the 3rd Test Championships to be held at Lords Cricket Ground in London, England in June 2025.
About Gautam Gambhir as a Coach and Player
Former Delhi and Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has no formal experience of being a coach of a team. He has been the mentor of the Indian premier League (IPL) franchise Lucknow Super Giants and the Kolkata Knight Riders. He is credited for the success of the Kolkata Knight Rider in winning the 2024 IPL title,which was its third IPL title.
Gautam Gambhir, who was an opening batsman, played 242 international matches for India across all formats and retired from international cricket in 2018.
Amongst his notable achievements was his match winning performance in the T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup finals.
Gautam Gambhir scored the match-winning 75 runs in the final of the first T20 World Cup in 2007.
Again he repeated the performance in the 2011 ODI World Cup winning India team. He was the highest scorer in the final with match winning 97 runs.
Gautam Gambhir was awarded the Arjuna Awards in 2009.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) named Gambhir as the Test Player of 2009.
In 2019, he was conferred India’s fourth highest civilian award, Padma Shri.
