Gautam Gambhir unveiled as India’s new Head Coach

ESPNCricinfo: Gautam Gambhir will be India’s next Head Coach, succeeding Rahul Dravid, who ended his tenure after overseeing India’s victorious T20 World Cup 2024 campaign. BCCI secretary Jay Shah made the announcement via X (formerly Twitter).

Gambhir’s first assignment in charge will be a white-ball tour of Sri Lanka, comprising three ODIs and three T20Is, later this month.

“India is my identity and serving my country has been the greatest privilege of my life,” he said on X. “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!”

In its official press release confirming Gambhir’s appointment, the BCCI indicated that the tenures of the assistant coaches who had worked with Dravid - Vikram Rathour (batting), Paras Mhambrey (bowling) and T. Dilip (fielding) – had come to an end. “The BCCI values their contribution and wishes them the best going forward,” the release said.

The BCCI had earlier said the new Head Coach would be appointed from July for a term of three-and-a-half years until December 2027 and would be in charge of the team across all three formats.