Gautam Gambhir (L) and Rohit Sharma© AFP
The Board For Cricket Control In India (BCCI) has approached former Indian cricket team batter Gautam Gambhir to replace Rahul Dravid as the national side’s head coach, according to a report by ESPNCricinfo. Gambhir, who is currently the mentor of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024, is reportedly in the list of candidates that the BCCI is considering for the position. The report claims that the cricket governing body has reached out to him in order to understand his interest in the job and further discussions are expected after KKR’s campaign ends in IPL 2024. Reports claim that Dravid has told BCCI that he will not be reapplying for the position and the deadline for applications is till May 27.
Gambhir has never coached a side on the domestic level but he was the mentor for IPL side Lucknow Super Giants in 2022 and 2023 before joining KKR ahead of the 2024 season. During his time with LSG, the side reached the playoffs twice and he repeated the feat once again with KKR this season.
As a player, Gambhir was part of the Indian cricket team which won the T20 World Cup in 2007 and the ODI World Cup in 2011. He produced brilliant performances in the final of the both tournaments.
Coming to the IPL, Gambhir led KKR to two titles during his tenure as captain from 2011 to 2017. The franchise also played in the 2014 Champions League T20 final under his leadership.
According to the job advertisement released by BCCI, the tenure will start from July 2024 and run till December 2027. The new head coach is expected to take over his responsibilities right after the T20 World Cup 2024 as that will be the final tournament for the current coach Rahul Dravid.
The names of Justin Langer, Stephen Fleming and VVS Laxman has been doing the rounds.
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