2024-08-16 10:03:25
New Delhi: After making Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) a champion in the Indian Premier League (IPL) under his mentorship, Gautam Gambhir’s new mission is to make Team India a champion. Rahul Dravid’s tenure as the head coach, who made Team India the champion of the T20 World Cup 2024, is over. Now Gautam Gambhir has the responsibility to carry forward Rahul Dravid’s legacy. Gambhir, who won the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 World Cup, was appointed the head coach of the national team in place of Dravid on July 9, 2024.
Dravid’s tenure as India’s head coach ended after winning the T20 World Cup and he did not re-apply for the job due to personal reasons. He had already announced that he would step down from his role after the T20 World Cup and some even expected to see different head coaches for different formats. But the BCCI decided to go with its tried and tested method of having one head coach for all three formats and appointed Gambhir.
Speaking to the Times of India, BCCI secretary Jay Shah explained the decision. He said- We have to listen to the coach we are appointing. Once we have selected Gautam Gambhir and if he is willing to coach all three formats, then who am I to say that you cannot coach a particular format. More or less 70 percent of the players are the same in all three formats.
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India have backups for head coach
Mentioning that India have enough backups for the role of head coach, he said, “We have coaches from the NCA. When Rahul Dravid was taking a break, VVS Laxman used to replace him.” Gambhir’s coaching stint with India began on July 27, when India began their tour of Sri Lanka with a three-match T20I series, which India won 3-0. However, Team India lost the ODI series.
Bangladesh is the next mission for Gautam GambhirThe next mission for Gambhir is the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh, followed by three T20Is against them. However, the main focus this year will be the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, which begins on November 22. The series has been extended to five Test matches this year and India have retained the trophy since 2017. India have registered series wins in Australia on the last two tours.