Gambhir Won't Coach India, Continue With KKR? Star Says "Next Mission..."

Will Gautam Gambhir be the Rahul Dravid's successor in the Indian Cricket team as head coach? That perhaps, is the biggest question in Indian cricket currently. Dravid's tenure ends with the 2024 T20 World Cup and his successor, according to a press release by BCCI, will take over from July 1. However, there has been almost complete silence on who all have applied for the top role. Going by BCCI secretary Jay Shah's statement, an Indian is likely to be at the helm. 

Several reports have claimed that Gambhir is one of the front-runner' of the post but in a recent interview, after he mentored KKR to IPL 2024 title, he indicated something unique. He was asked about KKR now being a 'trophy-winning dressing room'. 

"Today you are saying this because we have won our third trophy. But if you ask me, we are still two trophies away from MI and CSK. Today I am content, but again that hunger (is there) that you are still not the most successful team in the IPL, for that to happen you need to win the IPL three more times,  which will require a lot of hard work. So I think, the next mission is that, if we can make KKR the most successful team in the IPL. There won't be any bigger feeling for me. But the journey abhi shuru hui hai (the journey has just started)," Gautam Gambhir said on Sportskeeda.

The official deadline for application submission for the post of Indian cricket team coach selection is over. Monday was the last date to submit the google sheets to be the next India coach.

A report in Cricbuzz gave details of what might be happening in the background. It claimed that a "very high-profile owner of an IPL franchise, who is very close to the BCCI top brass" told the publication that former India star's appointment as Indian cricket team coach is a "done deal and the announcement will come soon". It also said that a "high profile commentator" told them that serious efforts are being made to rope in the KKR mentor. 

However, the report also added that since there has been no official announcement, it points to the fact that negotiations are still on multiple fronts -- "between the two parties and, perhaps, with some others too."

BCCI secretary Jay Shah last week rejected claims that the Board has approached any former Australian cricketer to be India's next head coach and hinted that Rahul Dravid's successor could be an Indian by saying that he should have a "deep understanding" of the game's structure in the country.