Gautam Gambhir Meets Jai Shah Amidst Team India Coach Speculation
Meeting Between Gautam Gambhir and Jay Shah After IPL 2024 Final
Former Indian cricketer and mentor of Kolkata Knight Riders, Gautam Gambhir, met with Jay Shah, the Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Sunday after the final of IPL 2024. The final match of this IPL season was held between Kolkata and Sunrisers Hyderabad, where Kolkata defeated Hyderabad by 8 wickets to become the champions.
Gambhir is the mentor of Kolkata in this season. Gambhir’s meeting with Jay Shah came after the speculation increased about him becoming the head coach of the Indian team. He is leading the race to take Rahul Dravid’s place. Rahul Dravid is currently the head coach of Team India. His tenure will end after the T20 World Cup scheduled in America and the West Indies.
Applications for the position of head coach of Team India will be accepted until May 27th. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has invited applications for the position of head coach of Team India. The board announced the advertisement for applicants on Monday (April 13) night. Candidates can apply until the evening of May 27th.
Gautam Gambhir Has No Coaching Experience
42-year-old Gautam Gambhir has no experience coaching at the international or domestic level, but he has previously handled coaching responsibilities for two IPL franchises. He was the mentor of Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022 and 2023. Thereafter, he joined Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2024 season. Gambhir led Lucknow Super Giants to playoffs in the first two seasons. Alongside this, KKR won the title in this season.
As a player, Gambhir was part of India’s T20 World Cup-winning team in 2007 and the ODI World Cup-winning team in 2011. He captained Kolkata Knight Riders for seven IPL seasons from 2011 to 2017, leading them to playoffs five times. As captain, he won two titles in 2012 and 2014.
Dravid Became Head Coach in November 2021
Rahul Dravid was appointed as the head coach of India in November 2021, after the Indian team was eliminated from the group stage of the T20 World Cup. The team reached the semi-finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup under his tenure. Dravid’s tenure concluded after the 2023 ODI World Cup, but it was extended until the T20 World Cup to allow the Indian team to reach the finals.
Under Dravid’s coaching, team India’s only success came in the form of winning the 2023 Asia Cup. India defeated hosts Sri Lanka to clinch the title.
