Sourav Ganguly warns Gautam Gambhir with ‘KKR vs India’ alert amid potential IND head coach appointment

PTC News Desk: There are many rumors circulating that Gautam Gambhir will almost definitely succeed Rahul Dravid as head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team after the latter’s term concludes after the 2024 T20 World Cup. A non-directive statement encouraging BCCI to “choose the coach wisely” was issued by former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Thursday, and it quickly went viral.

Two days later, Ganguly warned Gambhir by bringing up his victory in the IPL 2024 as the Kolkata Knight Riders’ coach.

A number of foreign names, including Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer, and Stephen Fleming, were connected to the India head coach post when the BCCI opened applications late last month. Reports said that the board was eager to hire the legendary New Zealand player.

Gambhir, however, became the front-runner after the BCCI secretary made it clear that the board wants an Indian to become the head coach since he would be more familiar with the domestic system. And after he led the KKR team to their third IPL title victory in team history this season, his stock significantly increased.

In an interview with RevSportz, former BCCI president Ganguly praised Gambhir as a “good candidate” amid reports that his appointment is certain. However, he also cautioned him that the pressure on an IPL team is very different from that of the Indian national team.

“He is a very good candidate; he is honest and passionate.” There is undoubtedly a distinction between managing an international team, particularly one as prominent as India, and coaching a franchise. Gautam, though, will undoubtedly be aware of it and know it.

He will be able to handle celebrities like Virat and Rohit and will undoubtedly fit in with the changing room culture. It involves more than merely challenging your own ideas. He stated, “I’m sure he’ll consider it and bring the changing room with him.

Ganguly made his remarks just two days after emphasizing the value of a strong coach on X, the former name of Twitter. “A coach’s influence in a player’s life, direction, and unwavering training mold a player’s destiny on and off the field. Thus, carefully consider the coach and the institution,” the former captain of India wrote.

The remark caused a social media storm. Some speculated that Ganguly was thinking back to his difficult playing days under Greg Chappell, while others questioned if he was against Gambhir’s possible nomination.

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