With the end of the coaching stint of Rahul Dravid with the winning campaign of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, the position of a new coach is under attention. And now with Gautam Gambhir taking his retirement as the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor after a successful Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, the news perhaps gets confirmed.
Under the captaincy the Gautam Gambhir, Kolkata became the champions of the league in 2012 and 2014 while upon his return to the franchise in this new season in 2024, the Knight Riders became the champions to end their decade-long wait for the title.
The ruthlessness of the players throughout the whole season, where they showed enough belief and a great process behind their game was the reason why they became the champions. At the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, the KKR team blew away Sunrisers Hyderabad to lift the trophy.
‘Gautam Gambhir wanted to bid goodbye to his fans.’- CAB official
The legendary figure of Indian cricket was a key member behind the success of the team during the two ICC tournaments during the 2007 and 2011 seasons, where he notched up match-winning knocks against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup, and a crucial 97-run knock against Sri Lanka during the ODI World Cup.
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Gautam Gambhir has always been a tough guy, who has helped to make the players mentally strong for their game and understand the situation of these big moments. He arrived in Kolkata for a shoot with the franchise at the iconic Eden Gardens on Friday, to end the relationship emotionally with the franchise.
That makes the news almost confirmed that he is going to take the position of the head coach of the Indian team, as it will be confirmed by the BCCI officials in a few days.
The leadership of Gautam Gambhir has been fantastic, as he partnered with Kolkata captain Shreyas Iyer for the success of the ‘Purple and Gold’ franchise, while his strategic mantra has been quite phenomenal in coping up with the current generation of the game.
The farewell video at the Eden Garden captured the journey of the Delhi born with the Kolkata Knight Riders, as the venue and the city have been a memorable one for him. The stadium, filled with past glories, served as the perfect backdrop for the emotional send-off.
‘It was a low-key affair, but Gambhir wanted to bid goodbye to his fans with a message and that’s why they shot a video at the Eden.’ The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) official has confirmed the news, in an interaction with Times Now, as Gautam Gambhir was present on the ground on Friday.
With the farewell news, Gambhir expects to be part of the Indian team from the Sri Lanka tour, where he would have time to design the ODI side before the Champions Trophy 2025, supposed to take place in Pakistan at the moment.
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With three experienced players of the shortest format- Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja taking retirement, Gautam Gambhir will also have enough time to prepare the young players for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026, to take place in India and Sri Lanka.
He will also have one eye on the upcoming World Test Championship Final, if the team gets qualified to be in Lord’s, after missing the last two chances in that stage, while the other eye will be on the upcoming Men’s ODI World Cup 2027, in South Africa. Now, it’s time to wait before officially Gautam Gambhir becomes the new India head coach.