Gambhir will begin his coaching tenure with the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka later this month.
Former opener Gautam Gambhir replaced Rahul Dravid as the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team last week. He will begin his tenure with the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka later this month.
Gambhir has been roped in by the BCCI with a lot of expectations after he mentored Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the IPL title earlier this year.
Ahead of his maiden assignment, Gambhir had a 'productive meeting' with the national selection committee on Tuesday (July 16).
According to a Cricbuzz report, the meeting that was held online lasted for over an hour and Gambhir provided his inputs to the selectors regarding the type of players he wants.
After securing the India coach job, Gambhir stated that he wants all players available for the three formats but this point wasn’t raised during the meeting.
Meanwhile, the report claimed that Rohit Sharma may make himself available for the three ODIs against Sri Lanka next month. India’s regular skipper might feature in these games, considering that there are not many one-dayers scheduled before the Champions Trophy 2025.
Rohit will reportedly inform the BCCI of his availability soon. If he decides to play, he will certainly lead the side in the 50-over format.
However, star batter Virat Kohli and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who have been granted rest for the Sri Lanka tour, are unlikely to participate in the series. Shreyas Iyer, who was dropped from the BCCI central contract list earlier this year, is expected to return to the ODI fold, along with KL Rahul.
If Rohit decides against playing the ODIs, Rahul is the front-runner for the captaincy. As has been widely reported, all-rounder Hardik Pandya may skip the ODI leg of the Sri Lanka tour.
India will play three T20Is and as many ODIs on the tour of Sri Lanka, starting on July 27. While Pallekele will host all the T20I matches, the ODI series will be held in Colombo.