Newly appointed Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir with BCCI Secretary Jay Shah.
| Photo Credit: X/@JayShah

Gautam Gambhir, the former India opening batter, has been appointed Rahul Dravid’s successor as the India men’s cricket team’s head coach. Gambhir, in his first international coaching assignment, has been handed a long rope, having been handed charge of the team till the end of 2027.

“Having endured the grind and excelled in various roles throughout his career, I am confident that Gautam is the ideal person to steer Indian cricket forward,” Jay Shah, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary, wrote on his personal social media handle on Tuesday.

“His clear vision for Team India, coupled with his vast experience, positions him perfectly to take on this exciting and most sought-after coaching role. The BCCI fully supports him as he embarks on this new journey.”

Ever since Dravid decided against continuing in his role after the T20 World Cup, Gambhir was touted to be the frontrunner for the coach’s post soon after he returned to Kolkata Knight Riders as its mentor for the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) 2024 edition.

Having severed ties after serving as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament, Gambhir and former India women’s head coach W. V. Raman were interviewed by the Cricket Advisory Committee headed by Ashok Malhotra on June 19.

The Hindu understands that the CAC interview was a mere formality with Gambhir having been promised the top job by the BCCI hierarchy even before the applications were invited in May.

Gambhir’s first assignment will be India’s limited overs’ tour to Sri Lanka, starting the end of July. It will be interesting to see how he gels with the squad. Murmurs of a group of senior cricketers having been uncomfortable with his appointment had been doing the rounds during the triumphant T20 World Cup campaign.

Besides earning the confidence of the dressing room, Gambhir — having only been involved in guiding IPL outfits — will have a tumultuous task of succeeding across formats and planning for the future.

The preparations for the T20 World Cup title defence in 2026 will take a backseat with the Indian team set to play 10 Test matches in the next six months before heading into the 2025 Champions Trophy.

It will be interesting to see if Gambhir, understood to have been shared a long list of his preferred support staff, will be able to get his way around to help him plan better.

Andy Flower is currently the head coach of IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: Murali Kumar K

Royal Challengers Bengaluru head coach Andy Flower has no plans of throwing his hat in the ring for the India coach’s job, the former Zimbabwe skipper confirmed after his team’s exit from the IPL play-offs.

Rahul Dravid won’t be continuing after the T20 World Cup and BCCI has invited fresh applications with May 27 being the deadline.

“I haven’t applied. I won’t be applying. I am happy with my involvement in the franchise game at the moment,” the 56-year Flower said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Gautam Gambhir is believed to have been sounded out but neither the former India opener nor the BCCI brass have confirmed the development.

Flower, who was a successful red-ball coach for England, had guided the Alastair Cook-led team to a Test series win in India back in 2012.

Flower had earlier coached Lucknow Super Giants and is also part of various other franchises across the globe. he said 10 months a year for a national team isn’t something that he is considering at this point.

“It’s fascinating stuff and I’m working with some amazing organisations so I’m really happy with that at the moment,” he said.

Ricky Ponting, who recently completed seven seasons as the head coach of Delhi Capitals IPL franchise, has been Australia’s interim T20 coach in the past. File
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

Australia great Ricky Ponting has revealed that he was approached for the soon-to-be-vacant India head coach position but he has declined the offer as it doesn’t fit into his “lifestyle” right now.

Ponting, who recently completed seven seasons as the head coach of Delhi Capitals IPL franchise, has been Australia’s interim T20 coach in the past. He did not say whether the feelers for India position came from the BCCI.

“…there were a few little one-on-one conversations during the IPL, just to get a level of interest from me as to whether I would do it,” Ponting told the ICC.

“I’d love to be a senior coach of a national team, but with the other things that I have in my life and wanting to have a bit of time at home…everyone knows if you take a job working with the Indian team, you can’t be involved in an IPL team, so it would take that out of it as well.

“Also, a national head coach is a 10 or 11-month of the year job, and as much as I’d like to do it, it just doesn’t fit into my lifestyle right now and the things that I really enjoy doing,” he added.

Ponting said he discussed the offer with his son and he seemed game for a move to India.

“My family and my kids have spent the last five weeks over at the IPL with me and they come over every year and I had a whisper to my son about it,” he recalled.

“I said, ‘Dad’s been offered the Indian coaching job’ and he said, ‘Just take it dad, we would love to move over there for the next couple of years’,” Ponting quipped.

“That’s how much they love being over there and the culture of cricket in India, but right now it probably doesn’t exactly fit into my lifestyle,” he added.

Some other high-profile names such as Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming, Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer and Kolkata Knight Riders mentor Gautam Gambhir have also been talked about as potential candidates for the position that Rahul Dravid will vacate after India’s T20 World Cup campaign next month.

The BCCI has set May 27 as the last date for submitting applications.

“I’ve seen a few other names thrown about as well. Justin Langer’s name got thrown in yesterday, Stephen Fleming’s name has been thrown about a little bit,” Ponting noted.

“Gautam Gambhir’s name has been thrown around a little bit the last couple of days as well. But I think it’d be unlikely for me just on the reasons that I’ve given there.”