Despite widespread reports confirming Gautam Gambhir as the prospective new coach for India, an official announcement regarding his appointment, replacing Rahul Dravid, may still be a few days away. Nevertheless, experts are confident that Gambhir’s character and determination make him the ideal candidate to lead the Indian team to greater success.
“What a record he has had as a coach!” said the former wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, who announced his retirement after IPL 2024, on Cricbuzz. “Being a mentor for LSG, two years on the bounce qualifying (for playoffs), comes to KKR and they say, ‘Please, you got to do something special for us’. Ends up winning the trophy.”
He added, “He has been at the helm, taken all the decisions (for KKR), be it sending (Sunil) Narine opening or getting Mitchell Starc in the auction in all of those big recruits and getting the right team, the right balance, and then taking all the shots.”
Gambhir said “I am seeing in the news that he could be part of the Indian team (chief coach) as well, and I really wish he does. He has that fire in him.”
Former New Zealand pace Simon Doul was also part of the discussion on Cricbuzz, and fully agreed with Karthik’s opinion. “Those (Gambhir) are the kind of people you want at the helm, highly respected, tough. He is a tough character, but I think he is very fair character and I think he’ll do a great job if he were to take over, if he were to accept the role.”
It was essentially Gambhir’s third IPL title with KKR. As the captain of KKR, Gambhir led the team to victory in the 2012 and 2014 IPL titles. His track record as a player and mentor demonstrates his understanding of what it takes to win major tournaments.
In addition to the three IPL titles with KKR, Gambhir was part of the Indian team under MS Dhoni that won the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup.
The tenure of current India coach, Rahul Dravid, will end after the T20 World Cup in June.
