After defeating New Zealand in the Champions Trophy 2025 final, the Indian squad recently won their second straight championship. This was a significant moment for current India head coach and two-time World Champion Gautam Gambhir, in addition to historic batsman Rohit Sharma guiding the team.
Before the series began, the 43-year-old faced criticism for his choices and for his subpar play in the previous two Test series against Australia and New Zealand, respectively. However, he led the team to victory in his first ICC trophy as head coach, therefore his return silenced all of the detractors.
Gautam Gambhir may be defying tradition as an Indian head coach by travelling with the India A team to assess opportunities in international cricket following this victory. Gambhir’s move could be significant as a coach because none of his predecessors, including Rahul Dravid and Ravi Shastri, had taken this action.
The BCCI has been in contact with Gautam Gambhir ever since he got back from Australia.
Given that Gambhir’s insistence on specific wild card players helped India win the Champions Trophy, he has stated his wish to go with the India ‘A’ team in order to gain a better understanding of the reserve pool. As a result, one might anticipate more assertiveness from him in the future, a BCCI source informed The Times of India.
“Reviving India’s ‘A’ tours is one of the key issues.” Dravid left NCA, and the few ‘A’ series that followed were all shadow tours for a major series. I agree with Gambhir that additional ‘A’ trips are necessary. That’s why he wants to personally assess the situation,” the insider continued.
Regarding the forthcoming India schedule, starting in June 2025, India will meet England in a five-match Test series. The side, which has struggled in red-ball cricket over the past two series, will need to win this series, and Gambhir will now want to prove himself as India’s coach in the longest format.