Credit: X
With the appointment of Gautam Gambhir as the new head coach of the Indian men's team, the left-handed top-order batter has made his first major demand. Gambhir has tasted a lot of success mentoring IPL teams like the Lucknow Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Riders where he reached the playoffs twice (with LSG) and won the tournament (with KKR) in three consecutive years.
After these stints, Gambhir was the number-one contender for the Team India job as the role was available after Rahul Dravid's tenure ended after the T20 World Cup 2024. Hence when Gambhir was announced as the new head coach, a report surfaced about the Delhi Southpaw needing specific names in his coaching staff.
As per Cricbuzz, the 42-year-old named former India and Mumbai all-rounder Abhishek Nayar as his batting coach. Nayar has been an integral part of the Kolkata Knight Riders coaching staff and was pivotal in their 2024 championship. Further, Nayar has worked with players like Rohit Sharma, and Dinesh Karthik among others and helped them make major improvements in their careers.
Further, the report adds that Gautam Gambhir is eyeing Indian fast bowlers like Lakshmipathy Balaji and Vinay Kumar as bowling coaches but the BCCI may bring in a high-profile name to build a solid fast-bowling core for the future. The report also claims the board may continue with T Dilip, from Rahul Dravid's coaching staff, may continue as the fielding coach.
