Mumbai, Jul 9 (IANS): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has appointed former opener and 2011 ODI World Cup-winner Gautam Gambhir as the new head coach of the senior men's team. BCCI secretary Jay Shah made this announcement through a social media post on Tuesday. Gambhir was the favourite for the post and replaced Rahul Dravid as head coach.
"It is with immense pleasure that I welcome Mr. @GautamGambhir as the new Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team. Modern-day cricket has evolved rapidly, and Gautam has witnessed this changing landscape up close," Jay Shah stated.
"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. "His clear vision for #TeamIndia, coupled with his vast experience, positions him perfectly to take on this exciting and most sought-after coaching role. The @BCCI fully supports him as he embarks on this new journey," he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Gambhir's appointment has been made on the recommendation of the BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjape, and Sulakshana Naik.
In his response to the announcement, Gambir said his goal is to make every Indian proud.
"India is my identity and serving my country has been the greatest privilege of my life. I’m honoured to be back, albeit wearing a different hat. But my goal is the same as it has always been, to make every Indian proud. The Men in Blue shoulder the dreams of 1.4 billion Indians and I will do everything in my power to make these dreams come true!" Gambhir said in a post on X.
Gambhir, who was part of the 2011 ODI World Cup-winning team, was till recently the mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and had appeared for the interviews for the head coach's post along with another former India opener WV Raman.
The former left-handed opener had helped KKR lift the trophy in 2024 for the third time and heavily impressed everyone with his leadership skills. Earlier, he had captained KKR to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014. A former Member of Parliament from Delhi, Gambhir was the Team Mentor of the Lucknow Super Giants before taking over the same responsibility at KKR.