Gautam Gambhir to be interviewed on Tuesday for job of India men’s cricket coach: Report

Gautam Gambhir will reportedly appear for an interview before BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee on Tuesday for the post of head coach for the India men’s cricket team. The Indian team will be without a head coach after the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 with Rahul Dravid set to step down. The BCCI had invited applications for the head coach post in May.

Kolkata Knight Riders mentor Gambhir’s interview will be taken through a Zoom call by CAC members Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjpe and Sulakshana Naik, reported the Indian Express. It also added that Gambhir is the only candidate to apply for the job.

The CAC will make its recommendation to BCCI after holding the interview.

“We are conducting an interview session for candidates for the post of head coach and selector. The CAC will submit its recommendation to the BCCI and the board will make an official announcement thereafter,” a BCCI source told the newspaper.

There were reports and rumours at the start that Australian stalwarts like Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer were also in the fray for the head coach post, however, the former cricketers said that they had turned down BCCI’s approaches. The Indian cricket board later released a statement that no Australian was approached for the role.

“Neither I nor the BCCI have approached any former Australian cricketer with a coaching offer. The reports circulating in certain media sections are completely incorrect. Finding the right coach for our national team is a meticulous and thorough process. We are focused on identifying individuals who possess a deep understanding of the Indian cricket structure and have risen through the ranks,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a statement.

The CAC is expected to also hold interviews to select a replacement for the selector Salil Ankola. The current men’s selection panel already has two members from the west zone – Ankola and head of committee Ajit Agarkar. Ankola was already a part of the selection committee when Agarkar joined, replacing Chetan Sharma. The new selector is expected to be from the north zone which has no representative currently.