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Gautam Gambhir has been appointed as the new head coach of the Indian cricket team by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He is scheduled to address the media in a press conference before the team departs for their upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka.
Rahul Dravid, who led the team to triumph in the 2024 T20 World Cup and saw them reach the finals of the ODI World Cup 2023 and the World Test Championship (WTC), has concluded his tenure as the head coach.
Indian Team Expected To Leave For Sri Lanka On July 22 – Report
On July 22, the Indian cricket team is scheduled to leave Mumbai for their tour of Sri Lanka. Simultaneously, Gautam Gambhir will make his debut appearance as the team’s new head coach at the pre-departure press conference. This tour marks Gambhir’s inaugural assignment with the national cricket team in his new capacity.
“The team is expected to leave for Sri Lanka on July 22 from Mumbai and the pre-departure press conference will likely be held on the same day,” a report by the Times of India said
Gautam Gambhir, renowned for his pivotal contributions in India’s victories at the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup, emerged as India’s leading run-scorer in both final matches. His left-handed batting prowess extended to Test cricket, where he amassed 4,154 runs across 58 matches, maintaining an impressive average of 41.95.
Despite lacking previous experience as a head coach in international or franchise cricket, the 42-year-old demonstrated his leadership acumen by mentoring the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL title in 2024. Prior to this, Gambhir had steered KKR to triumphs as captain in the 2012 and 2014 seasons, further highlighting his influential role in shaping successful cricketing campaigns.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli included in India’s ODI squad.
India is set to embark on a white-ball series in Sri Lanka from July 27 to August 7, featuring three ODIs and three T20Is. The selection committee has designated Suryakumar Yadav as the captain for the T20I matches, while Rohit Sharma will lead in the ODIs. Notably, both Rohit and Gambhir opted for Suryakumar Yadav over Hardik Pandya for the T20I captaincy.
Initially, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had planned to skip the ODIs following their retirement from T20Is after the recent T20 World Cup. However, the BCCI persuaded them to participate, considering the limited number of ODIs leading up to the ICC Champions Trophy in early 2025.
The Indian cricket team’s last bilateral white-ball series in Sri Lanka took place in July 2021, where under the leadership of Shikhar Dhawan, they clinched the ODI series 2-1, while Sri Lanka emerged victorious in the T20I series by the same margin. Additionally, India secured the Asia Cup 2023 title during their recent visits to Sri Lanka.
