There is no suspense or mystery anymore. Gautam Gambhir will take over from Rahul Dravid as the next head coach starting India's limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka. Gambhir, whose appointment as coach was formally announced last Wednesday, missed being part of the Zimbabwe tour, where VVS Laxman filled in as the acting coach, but with the former India opener set to take charge in 10 days from now, a new era of Indian cricket is set to unfold.

It is important to note that Gambhir, unlike his successor Dravid or Ravi Shastri, has no prior coaching experience though. He served as a mentor for three seasons – two with Lucknow Super Giants – and once with Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this year but has a good track record. LSG reached the IPL Playoffs in IPL 2022 and 2023, while KKR won the title two months ago. So, while Gambhir may not be rich in coaching experience, he brings a solid pedigree to the table, one that is believed to be the right mix of aggression and balance to take Indian cricket to unprecedented heights.

So far, Gambhir's peers have had nothing but positive to say about his new role. Some believe he is the best candidate for the job. However, Kapil Dev, the former India captain, chose to refrain from commenting at length on Gambhir's appointment and simply wished the Indian team and its players good luck for the experience ahead.

"If Gautam Gambhir is taking up that post (of head coach of the Indian cricket team), I wish good luck to him and the team. I hope they do better than what we have done previously. I want to wish the Indian players all the best," Kapil told PTI on the sidelines of the 2nd edition of the Trinity Golf Champions League in New Delhi.

Kapil's tenure as India coach

Kapil knows a thing or two about coaching the Indian team. He was in charge for a year – September 1999 to September 2000, but did not enjoy the best of times. Under him, India endured a forgettable tour of Australia, getting whitewashed in the Test series and blanked in the CB tri-series, winning just one game out of 14. India also lost to South Africa 0-2 at home, their first Test series defeat at home in 12 years.

During the same period, Kapil was slapped with match-fixing allegations from his former teammate Manoj Prabhakar as the scandal rocked the entire nation, forcing him to subsequently step down from the position. In 2004, he returned to coaching – albeit briefly – as the bowling consultant for India's tour of Pakistan.

Gambhir's challenge

Gambhir's appointment, however, is expected to be nothing like Kapil's. He has big shoes to fill as his predecessor, Dravid, led India to a World Cup win after 13 years and an ICC title after 11. With the Champions Trophy and the third World Test Championship lined up next year, followed by the 2026 T20 World Cup at home, Gambhir has a challenging tenure ahead, including the five-Test series in Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year.

It seems the Gambhir effect has already swung into motion. According to reports, he wants Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who had previously opted out of the Sri Lanka tour, to be part of the upcoming series as there are only a handful of ODIs left between now and the CT lined up in February 2025. Additionally, under Gambhir, India may see the rise of a new T20I captain, with a report emerging that Suryakumar Yadav, not Hardik Pandya, is set to take over proceedings from the recently retired Rohit Sharma.

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