Gautam Gambhir was finally unveiled as India’s new head coach by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah on Tuesday. Two-time ICC World Cup winner Gambhir replaced Rahul Dravid as Team India’s head coach ahead of the white-ball series against Sri Lanka. Former head coach Dravid declined an extension, and the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 was his final assignment for Rohit Sharma’s Team India.
Leaving the high-profile job on a high, Dravid guided Team India to their second World Cup title in the shortest format. The Virat Kohli-starrer Team India defeated South Africa by seven runs to end their long-standing trophy drought in ICC events. With Dravid already confirming his departure in the lead-up to the ICC event, Gambhir became an outright favourite to take over the coaching job after a successful season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
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Gambhir powered Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL crown in his comeback season. The 42-year-old joined KKR as the mentor of the Shah Rukh Khan co-owned franchise last season. Interestingly, Gambhir doesn’t have much coaching experience as the former India opener has only mentored two IPL sides before landing the high-profile job. However, Gambhir is expected to draw a Dravid-like salary as India’s head coach.
According to a report filed by PTI, Gambhir has not inked a deal with the BCCI. The apex cricket board has yet to finalise Gambhir’s contract, although the ‘financial nitty-gritty’ is the ‘last of his concerns’ after taking over the coaching position. For Gambhir, there is no bigger honour than coaching the national team.
“For Gautam, it was important that he took charge and salary and other stuff can be worked out as it’s not going anywhere. It is similar to the case of Ravi Shastri in 2014 when he was first made Director of Cricket over head coach Duncan Fletcher. The day Ravi joined, he didn’t even have a contract and things worked out. In case of Gautam also, some finer details are being worked out. The salary will be in the same range of Rahul Dravid,” a BCCI source said.
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