Reports: BCCI turns down Gautam Gambhir’s request for Jonty Rhodes to serve as his fielding coach

The official announcement of Gautam Gambhir’s appointment as head coach by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sparked a lot of conjecture about the makeup of the coaching staff.

This replaces Rahul Dravid, whose reign came to an end with the T20 World Cup 2024 victory, which was both his first trophy and a particularly fruitful conclusion to his period. The contracts of ‘The Wall’ and his other employees, fielding coach T Dilip, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, and batting instructor Vikram Rathour, also expired.

It was widely expected that Gautam Gambhir would not be easily placated and would make his own decisions about personnel.

Prior rumours indicated his interest in signing former Netherlands cricketer Ryan ten Doeschate, who was the fielding coach during Gambhir’s five-year tenure at the Kolkata Knight Riders and returned to the team as a mentor for their championship-winning IPL 2024 season.

All those hopes, though, were scuppered, as the BCCI publicly disregarded Gautam Gambhir inclination, stating that they would have preferred an all-Indian coaching team (Hindustan Times, 2017).

According to reports, Gautam Gambhir also asked for Jonty Rhodes to be the fielding coach, but the board denied his request.

Notwithstanding his lack of previous coaching expertise, Gautam Gambhir route to becoming the Indian team’s head coach included mentorship positions in the IPL. When Anil Kumble and Ravi Shastri rose to become the Indian team’s head coaches, similar paths were noted for both.

The Lucknow Super Giants qualified for the playoffs two seasons in a row under Gambhir’s leadership. After that, he moved on to coaching the Kolkata Knight Riders, whom he had previously captained to two IPL championships. In May 2024, he helped the team win another championship.

Also Read: “He talks positively and is very straightforward,” Shahid Afridi said of Gautam Gambhir after his appointment as India head coach

Gautam Gambhir first assignment with Team India will begin with a tour to Sri Lanka in late July. The itinerary comprises three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) and the same number of One-Day Internationals (ODIs).