Gautam Gambhir announced as India’s new coach; Rohit Sharma pens tribute for Rahul Dravid

Published on Authored by Sudipto Maity

The rumours have finally come true. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Tuesday, announced former cricketer and 2011 ICC ODI World Cup hero Gautam Gambhir as the head coach of the Indian senior men’s cricket team.

(Left to right) Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid. Photo courtesy: instagram.com/gautamgambhir55 and x.com/BCCI
(Left to right) Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid. Photo courtesy: instagram.com/gautamgambhir55 and x.com/BCCI

On the same day, India’s T20 World Cup winning captain Rohit Sharma penned an emotional tribute for former coach Rahul Dravid, under whose tutelage the team broke their ICC trophy jinx, as they defeated South Africa by seven runs to lift the ICC T20 World Cup silverware last month.

Announcing his appointment, the BCCI posted on social media: “NEWS. Mr Gautam Gambhir appointed as Head Coach – Team India (Senior Men). Mr Gambhir will take charge from the upcoming away series against Sri Lanka where Team India are set to play 3 ODIs & 3 T20Is starting July 27, 2024.”

Gambhir, who played crucial knocks in the finals of both the T20 World Cup in 2007 and ODI World Cup in 2011, where India ended up as champions, was appointed unanimously by BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee, comprising Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjpe and Sulakshana Naik.

Post his appointment, Gambhir took to X to share his feelings. “India is my identity and serving my country has been the greatest privilege of my life. I’m honoured to be back, albeit wearing a different hat. But my goal is the same as it has always been, to make every Indian proud. The men in blue shoulder the dreams of 1.4 billion Indians and I will do everything in my power to make these dreams come true!” the southpaw tweeted.

GG also thanked BCCI Honorary Secretary Jay Shah. “Many thanks for your extremely kind words and constant support @JayShah bhai. Elated to be a part of this journey! The entire team together will strive for excellence and newer heights,” Gambhir replied to a tweet from the BCCI top boss.

Meanwhile, Sharma referred to Dravid as his ‘working wife’, as he paid rich tribute to the former coach.

“Dear Rahul bhai, I have been trying to find the right words to properly express my feelings on this but I’m not sure I ever will so here’s my attempt,” the Indian skipper wrote.

“Since my childhood days I have looked up to you just like billions of others but I was lucky enough to get to work with you this closely. You are an absolute stalwart of this game but you left all of your accolades and achievements at the door and walked in as our coach and came on a level where we all felt comfortable enough to say just about anything to you. That is your gift, your humility and your love for this game even after all this time. I have learnt so much from you and every memory will be cherished,” The Hitman said.

Rohit also joked about his wife, Ritika Sajdeh, and shared how she refers to her husband’s relationship with Dravid. “My wife refers to you as my work wife and I’m lucky to get to call you that too 😊,” he said.

“This was the only thing missing from your arsenal and I’m so happy that we got to achieve it together. Rahul bhai it has been an absolute privilege to get to call you my confidant, my coach and my friend 🫡,” Rohit said, highlighting their recent World Cup win.

Accolades also poured in for The Wall from the BCCI.

“The Board would like to take this opportunity to express its heartfelt gratitude to Mr Dravid for his outstanding service as Head Coach. Dravid’s tenure was marked by significant achievements; the most noteworthy being crowned champions of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, 2024. Team India also finished as runners-up in the ICC 50-over World Cup, 2023 hosted in India & the ICC World Test Championship in 2023 hosted in England,” a news release quoted the BCCI as saying.

“Apart from the team’s dominance in bilateral series at home, Dravid’s dedication to nurturing young talent and instilling discipline and sportsmanship in the team has been exemplary,” the note added.

Dravid, who started his career in the 90s, amassed 10,000 plus runs in both Test and ODI cricket, before retiring. A complete team man, Jammy also kept wickets in India’s near successful 2003 ODI World Cup.

In his second innings as a coach, Dravid won the U-19 Cricket World Cup with skipper Prithvi Shaw, before taking over as the coach of the senior team. His stint ended with a memorable seven-run win over South Africa, that enabled India to end their ICC trophy drought, and add a second T20 World Cup medal.