Gautam Gambhir has been appointed as the new head coach of the Indian national team. The former World Cup winner’s tenure will start with the forthcoming Sri Lanka tour. This will be his first major task as a head coach of the international team. He previously has been the mentor of Lucknow SuperGiants (LSG) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) respectively. The former KKR captain yet again led the Knights to the 3rd IPL trophy.
The team’s scenario was completely different after the arrival of their former captain as a mentor. But mentoring an IPL team and being the head coach of Indian Cricket has a huge difference. The 42-year-old has already made a bold decision, valuing the contributions of each player and not just focusing on the stars of the side.
As per the reports, Suryakumar Yadav will be the captain for the T20I format. The 33-year-old batter will replace Rohit Sharma in the shortest format. The latter has already retired from the explosive format of the game. Hardik Pandya was supposed to become the successor. However, it is coming out that the former teammate of the head coach will be leading the side.
Gautam Gambhir sparks controversy inside dressing room
The reason for not allowing Pandya to lead the side is simple. The newly appointed head coach believes the all-rounder’s injuries are a concern for the team. His irregularities have been a question for the past few years. The incoming coach made it obvious to management. He did not want to work with a captain whose fitness could become a “stumbling block.”
The 30-year-old all-rounder has a history of injuries. He was forced to quit the ODI World Cup in the middle of the tournament with an ankle injury. And has since been out of play, only to return at the start of IPL 2024 and the T20 World Cup 2024. Looking at the figures, Hardik has played 46 of India’s 79 T20Is since the beginning of 2022. This is the very reason that Gambhir does not want Pandya to become the captain in the T20I format.
