Gautam Gambhir Set to Be Unveiled as India's New Head Coach

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is poised to officially unveil Gautam Gambhir as India's new head coach at a press conference scheduled before the team's departure for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka. This tour marks Gambhir's first assignment since succeeding Rahul Dravid as head coach.

Dravid's tenure concluded in June following the T20 World Cup, where India emerged victorious after defeating South Africa in a gripping final. Subsequently, the BCCI appointed Gambhir as his successor. The team is expected to depart for Sri Lanka on July 22 from Mumbai, with the pre-departure press conference likely to be held on the same day.

India's Sri Lanka tour commences with a three-match T20I series on July 27, followed by a three-match ODI series to conclude the tour. The selection committee announced the white-ball squads earlier this week, naming Suryakumar Yadav as the T20I captain and Rohit Sharma as the ODI captain.

Rohit and Virat Kohli, who both retired from T20Is after the T20 World Cup, were initially reported to be unavailable for the ODIs. However, the legendary duo was eventually included in the squad for the 50-over leg of the tour.

Prior to the squad announcement, there was speculation regarding the T20I captaincy, given Rohit's unavailability. Reports suggested that Gambhir favored Suryakumar Yadav, while BCCI secretary Jay Shah backed Hardik Pandya. Ultimately, Suryakumar Yadav was named as the skipper for the shortest format, but he was not included in the ODI squad.

Rohit and Virat were reportedly persuaded by the cricket board to make themselves available for the ODIs, considering the ICC Champions Trophy scheduled for February-March next year and the limited number of ODIs scheduled for India before that.

Tags: #GautamGambhir, #IndiaHeadCoach, #SriLankaTour, #T20I, #ODI