Former India opener Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday (July 9) officially replaced Rahul Dravid as the head coach of the national men’s cricket team.
Gambhir relinquished his IPL commitments before joining the Indian team. Following two seasons of mentoring the Lucknow Super Giants, the 42-year-old assumed a similar role with the Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this year.
Under the guidance of Gambhir, KKR clinched the IPL 2024 title, which strengthened his claims for the high-profile India coach job.
Emerging as a front-runner, Gambhir visited the Eden Gardens to record a farewell video for KKR last week. The recent development has certainly left a major void in KKR's coaching setup.
“Obviously yes. We had a good rapport, discussing team strategies and planning with the captain to achieve better combinations. Obviously, we will miss the communication we had,” KKR head coach Chandrakant Pandit said on Gambhir’s departure, as quoted by CricketNext.
“We’re extremely elated with Gambhir being appointed as the head coach of the Indian cricket team. I’m sure he will do a wonderful job, as he has been doing over the last few years. He has been pivotal for the success of KKR over the years, and also played big roles in India winning the World Cups in 2007 (T20I) and 2011 (ODI). He carries a lot of experience and is definitely the right choice. I’m really happy for BCCI,” he added.
Pandit also opened up on the congratulatory message he sent to Gambhir after the latter was appointed India’s chief coach.
“Yesterday, I messaged him, congratulated him. It’s a prestigious job and a prestigious role he is going to play for our country. Obviously, I was very happy to message him. He also messaged me back,” he stated.
Meanwhile, multiple reports have also claimed that Gautam Gambhir wants to bring along Abhishek Nayar as his assistant coach for the Indian team. Nayar, who has represented India in three ODIs, currently serves as assistant coach at the Kolkata Knight Riders.
“This is also in the news. He (Nayar) has also done a great job with KKR for the last few years. He was equally valued to us. If someone gets the opportunity to excel in their career, one should be happy about that,” Pandit said.
