‘Difficult to answer now’ - Gambhir remains tight-lipped about India head coach role

Amidst speculation that Gautam Gambhir is effectively days away from being officially named the head coach of the Indian Men’s side, the former India opener has opted to remain tight-lipped about the possibility of him taking over the reins, claiming that he is not looking too far ahead into the future right now.

Gambhir is the front-runner to replace Rahul Dravid as the head coach of the Men’s side, and the 42-year-old is believed to have already given at least one round of interview, earlier this week, for the role. 

But speaking at an event in Kolkata on June 21 (Friday), Gambhir did not give much away.

“I don’t see that far ahead. You are grilling me, asking me all tough questions,” he said, when asked regarding the India head coach role, reported News18.

“It is difficult to answer right now. All I can say is that I’m happy being here, just finished a brilliant journey (and) let’s enjoy that. I’m in a very happy space right now.”

Ahead of the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the former India opener was appointed the mentor of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and the move proved to be a masterstroke as the Knight Riders ended up winning their first title since 2014.

Gambhir has now had a hand in each of KKR’s three IPL titles: captain in 2012 & 2014 and mentor in 2024.

The 42-year-old, however, attributed KKR”s victory to the entire group, and refused to take credit.

“Yes I was the leader but all of us in the dressing room made the change. it was about making Kolkata proud. It was morale responsibility for me to give something back to Kolkata,” he said.

So what will Gambhir’s philosophy be, if he indeed ends up becoming the head coach of the Men’s side?

“For me, the guru mantra is a team-first philosophy. I think team-first ideology, team-first philosophy is the most important ideology in any team sport,” he said.

“If you have the intent of keeping your team ahead of any individual, things will fall in place. If not today, tomorrow, if not tomorrow, someday it will fall in place.

“But if you start thinking on that, or if you know that you need to help one or two individuals perform, then your team will only suffer,” he added.

Earlier this month, Gambhir had admitted in an event in Abu Dhabi that he would love to coach the Indian side.

"Look, I would love to coach the Indian team. There is no bigger honour. There is no bigger honour than coaching your national team," Gambhir had said.

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