Gautam Gambhir, who won the World Cup twice, has been chosen as the head coach of the India men’s cricket team for all formats. His tenure starts this month during the limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka.
“India is who I am, and serving my country has been the greatest honor of my life. I am privileged to be back, this time in a different role,” said the former batter on X. “But my aim remains unchanged: to make every Indian proud. The Men in Blue carry the dreams of 1.4 billion people, and I will do everything possible to fulfill these dreams.”
BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced this on X during Tuesday evening.
As a batter, Gambhir played crucial roles in India’s victories in the 2011 Cricket World Cup and the 2007 T20 World Cup. He was ICC’s Test Player of the Year in 2009. Gambhir led the Kolkata Knight Riders to victories in the IPL in 2012 and 2014. He retired from international cricket in 2016 with a total of 10,324 runs across all three formats.
“He has seen firsthand how modern cricket has evolved,” Shah remarked. “Having faced challenges and excelled in various capacities throughout his career, I am confident that Gautam is the ideal person to lead Indian cricket forward.”
India will play three T20s and three ODIs in Sri Lanka, starting July 27. Key batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are expected to sit out of the ODI series.
Gambhir has no prior experience as an official coach. After retiring as a player, he mentored the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, and then took up the mentorship role with the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024, guiding them to their third IPL title.
