Gautam Gambhir's Special Message For Rahul Dravid After Becoming Head Coach Of Team India Goes Viral

Gautam Gambhir officially replaced Rahul Dravid as the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team on Tuesday (July 9). The former Indian opening batter’s appointment was confirmed by BCCI secretary Jay Shah on X (formerly Twitter), and then BCCI also shared a release to put an official stamp. The 42-year-old left-handed batter, who top-scored for India in the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup finals, will formally take charge of the Indian team from the Sri Lanka tour onwards, which starts on July 27.

After becoming the new coach of the Indian team, Gambhir posted a tweet in which he stated that serving for India has been the greatest privilege of his life.

“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!”

Ahead of taking charge of the Indian men’s cricket team, the former world No. 1 Test batter also paid rich tribute to outgoing Indian head coach Rahul Dravid and his support staff for their exemplary run with the team.

“It is an absolute honour to serve my tricolour, my people, my country. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Rahul Dravid and his team of support staff for their exemplary run with the team. I am honoured and excited to take on the role of Head Coach for Team India,” Gambhir was quoted as saying in BCCI’s press release.

The two-time IPL winner also said that he is looking to work closely with VVS Laxman, who is the head of cricket and in charge of the Indian team that is currently in Zimbabwe for a five-match T20I series.

“I have always taken pride while donning the Indian jersey during my playing days and it is going to be no different when I take up this new role. Cricket has been my passion, and I look forward to working closely with the BCCI, Head of Cricket – Mr VVS Laxman, the support staff, and, most importantly, the players, as we work towards achieving success in the upcoming tournaments.”

Gambhir was the favourite to become the head coach ever since he helped KKR win the 2024 edition of the IPL by getting the better of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final played on May 26 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.