Gautam Gambhir has been heavily linked with the job to become the next head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team. With current boss Rahul Dravid’s contract set to expire after the ongoing T20 World Cup, Gambhir was the only candidate to apply for the job, as per multiple reports. The former India opener was interviewed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) last week, where Gambhir presented some of his demands to the board.
However, Navbharat Times has now reported that during his interview with the CAC, Gambhir laid down not one but five conditions to accept BCCI’s proposal.
Gambhir demanded that he will have full control of the cricketing operations of the team, without any interference from the board.
Secondly, the two-time World Cup winner will pick his own support staff, including batting, fielding and bowling coaches.
Thirdly, and most importantly, the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan could be the last opportunity for four senior players — Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammad Shami.
If these players fail to help India win the tournament, they would be dropped from the team. However, there was no mention of the players being discarded from all three formats.
As far as the fourth condition is concerned, there will be a separate team in Test cricket.
Lastly, Gambhir will start preparing a roadmap for the 2027 ODI World Cup from the get-go.
While it is pretty clear if the four senior players — Virat, Rohit, Jadeja and Shami — will be dropped from the team if they don’t perform in the 2025 Champions Trophy, the question remains if the players will continue to play red ball cricket.
Kohli and Rohit’s future has already been uncertain, and with Gambhir’s name linked with the India head coach job, it won’t be a big surprise that the two veterans could be overlooked for selection.
It is also worth noting that India could feature in the World Test Championship final next year. There could be a possibility of them getting dropped if India don’t win the Test mace next time around.
India have lost the last two World Test Championship finals to New Zealand (2021) and Australia (2023), respectively.
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