Kapil Dev greeted the Indian team with ‘All the best’ and ‘Good luck’ with the selection of Gautam Gambhir as their new head coach. There is no longer any suspense or mystery. Gautam will replace Rahul Dravid as India’s new head coach, beginning their limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka. Gambhir, whose appointment as coach was formally revealed last Wednesday, was unable to attend the Zimbabwe tour when VVS Laxman served as acting coach. But, with the former India opener due to take command in 10 days, a new era of Indian cricket is about to begin.
It is important to note that Gautam Gambhir, unlike his successors Dravid and Ravi Shastri, has no previous coaching expertise. He has worked as a mentor for three IPL seasons. Two with the Lucknow Super Giants. And one with the Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this year, and has a strong track record.
Gautam Gambhir: A New Coaching Prospect
Lucknow Super Giants qualified for the IPL Playoffs in 2022 and 2023. But KKR won the title two months ago. So, while Gautam Gambhir lacks coaching expertise, he brings a strong pedigree to the table. He was an ideal option with a proper combination of aggression and balance to propel Indian cricket to unparalleled heights. So far, Gambhir’s colleagues have only had great things to say about his new position. Some think he’s the best contender for the post. However, Kapil Dev, the former India captain, elected not to comment on Gambhir’s hiring, instead wishing the Indian team and its players the best of success in their future endeavors.
“If Gautam Gambhir is appointed as head coach of the Indian cricket team, I wish him and the team the best of luck. I’m hoping they do better than we did earlier. I want to wish the Indian players the best of luck,” Kapil told PTI on the sidelines of the Trinity Golf Champions League‘s second edition in New Delhi.
Kapil has some experience coaching the Indian squad. He was in command for a year, from September 1999 to September 2000, but did not have the greatest of times. Under him, India had a disappointing trip to Australia, losing the Test series and blanking in the CB tri-series, winning only one of fourteen games. India also suffered their first home Test series defeat in 12 years, losing 0-2 against South Africa.
Upcoming Challenges for Gautam Gambhir
During the same period, Kapil was accused of match-fixing by his old teammate Manoj Prabhakar. And that scandal shocked the nation, which later caused him to resign from his job. In 2004, he returned to coaching for a brief time. As the bowling consultant during India’s tour of Pakistan. Gautam Gambhir’s appointment, on the other hand, is expected to be quite different from Kapil’s. He has enormous shoes to fill after his predecessor, Dravid. Dravid led India to a World Cup victory after 13 years and an ICC crown after 11 years. Gambhir has a challenging tenure ahead of him.
The Champions Trophy and the third World Test Championship are set for next year. Just after the 2026 T20 World Cup at home. As well as a five-Test series in Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year. The Gambhir impact appears to have already been initiated. According to sources, he wants Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who had already opted out of the Sri Lanka tour. Gautam Gambhir desires them to participate in the forthcoming series, given there are only a few ODIs left between now and the CT in February 2025.
Furthermore, under Gautam Gambhir India may see the development of a new T20I captain. New reports suggested that Suryakumar Yadav, not Hardik Pandya, is expected to take over from the recently retiring Rohit Sharma.
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