Former Indian batter Gautam Gambhir was named the new head coach of the Indian men's team. The s outhpaw from New Delhi described this opportunity as an absolute honour and compared it to his time as a player in the national team. Gambhir was a front-runner in the race to be the next head coach.
With the culmination of the T20 World Cup 2024, former Indian captain Rahul Dravid's stint as the Indian head coach concluded. But before the World Cup, Gambhir was considered the favourite to take over from Dravid.
Absolute honour to serve my tricolour, my people, my country: Gambhir
Then on July 9, the Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjpe and Sulakshana Naik unanimously recommended Gambhir as the Head Coach of Team India. With the confirmation of the news, BCCI released a statement with included Gambhir's reaction to his new role.
The T20 and ODI World Cup winner said, "It is an absolute honour to serve my tricolour, my people, my country. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Rahul Dravid and his team of support staff for their exemplary run with the team. I am honoured and excited to take on the role of Head Coach for Team India."
"I have always taken pride in donning the Indian jersey during my playing days and it is going to be no different when I take up this new role. Cricket has been my passion and I look forward to working closely with the BCCI, Head of Cricket – Mr VVS Laxman, the support staff, and, most importantly, the players, as we work towards achieving success in the upcoming tournaments," he continued.
The former India batter will take charge of the upcoming away series against Sri Lanka where Team India is set to play 3 ODIs & 3 T20Is. The series starts on July 27 with the T20Is before the ODIs on August 2.