Former opening batsman for the Indian cricket team, Gautam Gambhir, is said to be the top candidate to take over as the head coach for the men’s national team, replacing Rahul Dravid. Gambhir had his interview with the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) on Tuesday, and there will be another round on Wednesday. While everyone in the cricket community is waiting for the official decision, it seems that Gambhir is the clear favorite for the position. If Gambhir, who is also a mentor for the Kolkata Knight Riders, gets the job, former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has cautioned older Indian players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami, and Ravindra Jadeja.
“Gautam Gambhir has done an interview. It was a virtual one, not like WV Raman’s great presentation. I just read about it. Gautam Gambhir is leading in this competition. Everyone is saying it, and we know that too,” Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“I think it will be a challenging time because there will be changes to handle, which is never simple. Players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, maybe Ravindra Jadeja, especially in T20s, many of them are over 30, 35 to 37 years old, including Ravichandran Ashwin,” he added.
If Gambhir gets the contract, it will last until the end of the 2027 ODI World Cup. During this time, many of the team’s current top players will be closer to 40 years old than 30. Because of this, Chopra thinks some big decisions might be made to plan for the future.
“In the next three to four years, before the 2027 World Cup, you need to get your team ready. There will also be a World Test Championship in 2027 and a T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in 2026. So, a very important plan will have to be made,” he said.
“It won’t be simple because people say changes are the hardest part. The key task is to keep performance levels high during these changes. Also, changes work better when you talk clearly with everyone. You have to tell the players staying and leaving why it’s happening,” Chopra explained.
