Former Zimbabwe player and current Royal Challengers Bengaluru head coach Andy Flower has backed the BCCI’s decision to appoint Gautam Gambhir as the head coach of the Indian cricket team. The board on Tuesday announced the news of selecting Gambhir, a former India opener, to replace Rahul Dravid, whose tenure ended with T20 World Cup 2024. While praising the move, Flower stated that Gambhir is a man of “strong opinions” and “clear views”. It is worth noting that both Gambhir and Flower worked together during IPl 2022 and 2023.

For the two years, Flower was the head coach of Lucknow Super Giants, while Gambhir was the mentor of the side. Ahead of IPL 2024, Gambhir became the mentor of Kolkata Knight Riders while Flower switched to Royal Challengers Bengaluru as the side’s head coach.

“Well, the first thing he’s got to do is just give up his legends cricket at the moment. He’s quite a man Gautam Gambhir, I really enjoyed working with him. He’s got strong opinions, he’s got strong clear views on the game. He’s very decisive, he’s a very proud Indian, he loves Indian cricket and his position, representing Indian cricket. I think it’s a good appointment and I think he’s going to be successful,” said Flower on Sony Sports ahead of India vs Zimbabwe third T20I match.

Under Gambhir’s mentorship, KKR won their third IPL title in 2024. KKR’s first two titles that came in 2012 and 2014 had come under Gambhir’s captaincy.

BCCI president Roger Binny said that Gautam Gambhir’s appointment as Team India’s new head coach marks a new chapter.

WV Raman was the other candidate alongside Gambhir, who was interviewed for the job of India head coach but the latter is the one who eventually got the role.

Roger Binny said that Gambhir’s experience made him the ideal candidate to guide the team forward.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appointed Gautam Gambhir as the head coach of the senior men’s cricket team on Tuesday. Ever since Gambhir took the post left vacant by Rahul Dravid, whose tenure ended with the conclusion of T20 World Cup 2024, there have been a lot of reports regarding the coaching support staff that are yet to be named. In a latest development, it is being reported that Gambhir asked for Jonty Rhodes to be included as fielding coach for Team India, but the board turned down the request.

The report was published by Hindustan Times, which also stated that the BCCI wants to keep an all-Indian support staff.

It is worth noting that all the tenure of all the support staff — batting coach Vikram Rathour, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, and fielding coach T Dilip — ended with that of Rahul Dravid’s reign as India head coach. However, the board’s reported plan to keep an all-Indian support staff means that Dilip might continue as India fielding coach.

With Gambhir assuming the role of head coach, he inherits a formidable India men’s team that recently secured victory in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and made notable runners-up appearances in the 2023 ODI World Cup and World Test Championship. As he embarks on his stint until 2027, Gambhir faces a multitude of challenges.

The first challenge Gambhir faces is to find his footing and build camaraderie in a dressing room with players he was previously teammates with — like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli among others.

Gambhir’s route to becoming the head coach of the Indian team has involved taking on mentorship roles in the IPL, despite lacking substantial coaching experience beforehand. This was also the case for Ravi Shastri and Anil Kumble when they were appointed to the top job in the Indian team.

Under Gambhir’s mentorship, Lucknow Super Giants entered playoffs in consecutive seasons. He then switched to mentoring Kolkata Knight Riders – the team he led to two IPL titles – and got them the trophy in May.

(With IANS Inputs)

Gautam Gambhir was on Tuesday named the head coach of the Indian cricket team. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah made the announcement on X (formerly Twitter). The news was much expected as Gambhir was the front-runner for the role with ex-India batter WV Raman being the other contendor. The board eventually picked Gambhir to replace Rahul Dravid in the post. After the announcement, Kolkata Knight Riders, the team that Gambhir mentored during Indian Premier League 2024, put an emotional post on X.

“There is no bigger honour than coaching your national team,” wrote KKR.

pic.twitter.com/zjiHiGvGH4

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) July 9, 2024

Under Gambhir’s mentorship, KKR won their third IPL title in 2024. KKR’s first two titles that came in 2012 and 2014 had come under Gambhir’s captaincy.

BCCI president Roger Binny said that Gautam Gambhir appointment as Team India’s new head coach marks a new chapter.

Rahul Dravid’s tenure as head coach of Team India came to an end after the conclusion T20 World Cup 2024. India won the prestigious title.

In a statement released by BCCI, Roger Binny thanked former head coach Rahul Dravid for his brilliant run with the Men in Blue. He added that Gambhir’s experience made him the ideal candidate to guide the team forward.

“The Board would like to thank former Head Coach, Mr Rahul Dravid for his brilliant run with the team. Team India now embarks on a journey under a new coach – Mr Gautam Gambhir. His appointment as Head Coach marks a new chapter for Indian cricket. His experience, dedication, and vision for the game make him the ideal candidate to guide our team forward. We are confident that under his leadership, Team India will continue to excel and make the nation proud,” Binny was quoted in a release from BCCI as saying.