ESPNcricinfo has gathered that Gautam Gambhir, the leading candidate to succeed Rahul Dravid as the head coach of the India men’s team, attended an interview on Tuesday and has submitted a formal application for the role. Gambhir spoke with the cricket advisory council (CAC), the group that the BCCI has assigned the task of shortlisting candidates.
Former Indian cricket players Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjape, and Sulakshana Naik are members of the CAC.
The number of applications that the BCCI has received is unknown, but it has been gathered that WV Raman, the former batter for India who led the country’s women’s team from December 2018 to May 2021, has also been interviewed.
The BCCI had informal talks with Gambhir during the 2024 Indian Premier League, when he led Kolkata Knight Riders to their third triumph following his return to the team as mentor in November 2023. The BCCI had set May 27 as the deadline for applicants for the position.
This was Gambhir’s second tenure as a coach; he had served as an assistant coach with the Lucknow Super Giants in both the 2022 and 2023 IPL seasons, assisting the team in both seasons’ postseason appearances.
Although Gambhir had wanted more time to make a decision during the IPL, on June 1st, he announced his intention to coach India at a function in Abu Dhabi. Gambhir remarked, “Look, I would love to coach the Indian team.” “No higher honour exists. Being a national team coach is the greatest accolade there is. You speak for 140 crore Indians. and more everywhere in the world as well. And how can it get any greater than that when you represent India?”
He was responding to a query on whether he could see himself supporting India to victory in the World Cup.
“How can I help India win the World Cup – I think it’s not me that will help India win the World Cup, it is 140 crore Indians that will help India win the World Cup,” Gambhir stated. “India will win the World Cup if everyone starts praying for us and we begin to play and represent them. Being bold is crucial, and yes, I would really want to coach India.”
After former India teammate VVS Laxman informed the BCCI last year that he was not interested in the head coach position, Gambhir emerged as the front-runner for the position. Currently serving as the National Cricket Academy’s (NCA) director of cricket in Bengaluru is Laxman.
Following the T20 World Cup in November 2021, Dravid succeeded Ravi Shastri. He initially agreed to serve for two years, until the 2023 ODI World Cup. Then, he granted the BCCI’s plea to continue serving till the conclusion of the T20 World Cup.
The new head coach would lead the squad in all three formats and be hired for a period of three and a half years, from July 2024 to December 2027, according to the BCCI.