New India coach: Ganguly says ‘choose wisely’ as Gambhir emerges frontrunner

Ahead of the Indian cricket team’s coach selection, former captain Sourav Ganguly on Thursday (May 30) advised the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) with a cryptic post on social media.

India are set to have a new coach with the current head coach Rahul Dravid’s tenure ending in June after the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the US and the Caribbean islands.

The BCCI had invited applications from candidates to find a suitable replacement for Dravid. The deadline to submit applications ended on May 27 and the board received more than 3,000 applications.

According to reports, former India opener Gautam Gambhir is the frontrunner to replace Dravid. However, there is no word from the man himself or the BCCI so far.

Gambhir was hailed as the man behind Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) IPL 2024 title triumph. He was the mentor of the team, returning from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to KKR ahead of this season.

On Thursday, Ganguly, who has served as BCCI president, spoke about the importance of a coach and said the person should be chosen “wisely”. It was not clear what he was hinting at.

“The coach’s significance in one’s life, their guidance, and relentless training shape the future of any person, both on and off the field. So choose the coach and institution wisely…,” Ganguly posted on his X (formerly Twitter) handle.

There were many replies to Ganguly’s post and some wondered whether he was against Gambhir’s appointment as India coach.

“Speculations are that Gautam Gambhir will become the head coach. And you say ‘choose the coach wisely’ Are you against Gambhir becoming the coach? (sic),” one user asked on X.

Another user wrote, “This seems like a tweet against the appointment of Gambhir as the Indian coach, also not a single tweet to congratulate your home town for winning the IPL. This is not the Dada we grew up loving.”

“Dada Remembering greg chappell (sic),” commented another person.

“Cryptic post from Dada. Is he not in favour of GG becoming the head coach?” was another reply under Ganguly’s post.

According to a report, BCCI is not in a hurry to appoint a new coach. “The deadline is fine, but the BCCI brass wouldn’t mind taking some more time before reaching a decision. Right now, the team will be busy with World T20 for the better part of the month of June. After that seniors will be rested from tours of Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe where any of the NCA-based senior coaches can accompany the team. So what’s the hurry,” a BCCI source told news agency PTI.