Gautam Gambhir’s appointment marked a new chapter in Indian cricket. Wearing a different hat in his next innings for Team India, Gambhir is honoured to be back at the national camp. The two-time World Cup winner officially replaced Rahul Dravid as the head coach of the reigning T20 World Champions on Tuesday. In his coaching swansong, Gambhir’s predecessor, Dravid, ended India’s long wait for an ICC title in the Caribbean.
The Dravid-coached Indian side became the first men’s team to win a T20 World Cup without dropping a single game in the ICC event. Succeeding The Wall as India’s head coach, Gambhir reserved special praise for Dravid following his impressive run. Dravid guided Team India to three ICC finals. Under Dravid’s watch, Team India also lifted the Asia Cup trophy last year.
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“It is an absolute honour to serve my tricolour, my people, my country. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Rahul Dravid and his team of support staff for their exemplary run with the team. I am honoured and excited to take on the role of Head Coach for Team India,” Gambhir said after BCCI confirmed the appointment of the former India opener.
Gambhir is also looking forward to collaborating with VVS Laxman, who is touring Zimbabwe as India’s stand-in head coach for the five-match T20I series. After the away tour to Zimbabwe, India will host Sri Lanka for three T20Is and as many One Day Internationals (ODIs). The upcoming Sri Lanka series will be the first assignment for the newly-appointed head coach.
“I have always taken pride while donning the Indian jersey during my playing days and it is going to be no different when I take up this new role. Cricket has been my passion and I look forward to working closely with the BCCI, Head of Cricket – Mr VVS Laxman, the support staff, and, most importantly, the players, as we work towards achieving success in the upcoming tournaments,” Gambhir added.
Gambhir was a part of India’s 2011 World Cup and 2007 T20 World Cup-winning teams. The Indian southpaw top-scored for India in both the ICC finals. He was ICC’s Test player of the year in 2009, and the swashbuckling batter also led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to twin victories in the 2012 and 2014 editions of the IPL. The former KKR mentor retired from international cricket in 2016 with 10,324 runs across all formats.
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