Gautam Gambhir received wishes from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) CEO Venky Mysore after he was officially appointed as the new Team India head coach by the BCCI on Tuesday.

Gambhir will replace his one-time India teammate Rahul Dravid, whose tenure ended after India won the T20 World Cup 2024. Gambhir will have his work cut out for him, given that under Rahul Dravid’s guidance, India made it into the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 and then won the Asia Cup 2023.

India also qualified for the final of the World Test Championship in 2023 and also made it into the final of the ICC World Cup 2023, where they went undefeated into the summit clash where they lost to Australia.

However, the tenure of Rahul Dravid ended in a fairytale with India winning the T20 World Cup 2024, ending their drought of ICC titles since 2013.

Gautam Gambhir, on the other hand, has no formal experience of coaching any team but has been a mentor of the Lucknow Super Giants for IPL 2022 and 2023. The franchise qualified for the playoffs both times.

He then moved to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), a franchise he captained to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014, and was appointed as the team’s mentor. He formed a brilliant combination with assistant coach Abhishek Nayar and captain Shreyas Iyer, as he guided KKR to the IPL 2024 title, their third trophy win.

Venky Mysore wishes Gautam Gambhir for his India head coach job

As a result, Gautam Gambhir had to bid goodbye to his job as KKR mentor. It was reported that KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan had offered Gambhir a blank cheque to remain the franchise’s mentor for the next ten years.

However, Gambhir wanted to contribute to the Indian team as well and has now taken over the Indian team head coach role. As a farewell, KKR CEO Venky Mysore posted a congratulatory message on X, wishing Gambhir all the best for his next assignment.

He wrote: “Very proud of you @GautamGambhir. No doubt you will make India proud. @KKRiders”