The Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has approached former Indian cricketer and KKR team mentor Gautam Gambhir to replace Rahul Dravid and become the next head coach for the Indian cricket team after the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup.
Gambhir is BCCI’s top choice to replace Rahul Dravid, and the deadline to apply for the job is May 27th, i.e., after the final of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL).
Gautam Gambhir’s Coaching experience
The BCCI( Board for Cricket Control in India) recently learned that the current head coach, Rahul Dravid, will not be able to continue for the position of head coach, which leaves BCCI looking in the hunt for a new coach. VVS Laxman, who was on the brink of succeeding Rahul Dravid, made himself out of the race due to some personal reasons.
Gautam Gambhir (42), on the other hand, is having a terrific season as a mentor to the IPL teams Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), despite having no experience in coaching at the international and domestic level in cricket. He was the mentor for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) from 2022 to 2023, in which they qualified for the playoffs in both seasons and currently, he is mentoring Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), where his mentorship has yielded results by not only qualifying KKR into the IPL 2024 Playoffs but also finishing at the top of the IPL table.
Gambhir’s move to KKR was not expected by the KKR fans but they later learned that he was persuaded to join the side as a mentor by their owner and Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan.
Gambhir’s Leadership and Cricket Experience
There is no argument that Gambhir’s mentorship massively changed the mentality of KKR, which was suffering in the last few seasons, but under his mentorship, the team looks back in red-hot form and is performing well both in the batting and bowling departments. But it should be kept in mind that he was a part of India’s 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 World Cup winning teams, in which Gambhir played a crucial knock of 97 runs against Sri Lanka in the 2011 Cricket World Cup Final at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India.
Gautam Gambhir was an excellent batsman and skipper when he played for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) between 2011 and 2017, he led KKR to their two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014 under his leadership. He also led the KKR side to the defunct Champions League T20 in 2014, which they lost against the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
BCCI on the Head Coach Job
The BCCI recently posted a job advertisement seeking applicants for the post of head coach for the Indian cricket team. The tenure will start from July 2024 to December 2027. BCCI said that the tenure will start directly after the end of the upcoming T20 World Cup in 2024. The selection process will be included in an application, which is followed up by an interview.
Rahul Dravid started his tenure after the 2021 T20 World Cup up until the 2023 Cricket World Cup, which was supposed to be his last, but he agreed on an extension to manage the side once more in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, which is going to be held in the West Indies and USA.
The candidates who are shortlisted for the job other than Gautam Gambhir are Justin Langer and Stephen Fleming. But Gambhir is considered the favorite to replace Dravid due to his excellent relationship with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Gambhir is not a big fan of the cricket superstar culture, which is well respected by his peers and youngsters.
