Indian cricket board appoints Gautam Gambhir as men’s head coach

The former batter and BJP politician will take charge of the Indian team following Rahul Dravid’s decision to step away.

India’s cricket board has named Gautam Gambhir as head coach of the men’s team, with the former opener taking over from Rahul Dravid, tasked with building on their recent World Cup triumph.

“It is with immense pleasure that I welcome Mr Gautam Gambhir as the new Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team,” Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement on Tuesday.

The 42-year-old Gambhir takes over from batting great Dravid, who finished his stint with the T20 World Cup title in Barbados last month.

Gambhir scored more than 10,000 international runs during his 13-year-long international career for India since his ODI debut in 2003.

He is the only Indian – and one of four international cricketers including Don Bradman, Jacques Kallis and Mohammad Yousuf – to have scored centuries in five successive Test matches.

“Modern-day cricket has evolved rapidly, and Gautam has witnessed this changing landscape up close,” Shah added in his post.

Gambhir, a left-handed batter who played a key part in India’s ODI World Cup win in 2011, recently coached Kolkata Knight Riders to an Indian Premier League (IPL) crown.

“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,” Shah added.

Gambhir replied to Shah’s statement on X, saying he was “elated” to be part of the men’s cricket team’s journey.

Many thanks for your extremely kind words and constant support @JayShah bhai. Elated to be a part of this journey! The entire team together will strive for excellence and newer