All the best to Indian players: Kapil Dev's intriguing reaction to Gautam Gambhir's appointment as head coach

Gautam Gambhir has been appointed as the new India head coach. He will take charge of the national team in the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.

India will play a three-match T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka from July 26-August 7. Suryakumar Yadav is likely to be named as the captain of the Indian team for the series. Many believed Hardik Pandya to be the front-runner for the post. However, there are reports that there is an influence of Gautam Gambhir behind the selection of SKY as the captain.

Gambhir has further urged Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah to play the ODI series against Sri Lanka as the senior players will get enough rest before the Test series against Bangladesh.

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Meanwhile, former Indian skipper Kapil Dev has refrained from giving his opinion on the selection of Gautam Gambhir as the next head coach of the Indian team. However, he has said "all the best" to the Indian players who will be part of the core group under Gambhir.

"If Gautam Gambhir is taking up that post (of head coach of the Indian cricket team), I wish good luck to him and the team. I hope they do better than what we have done previously. I want to wish the Indian players all the best," Kapil told PTI on the sidelines of the 2nd edition of the Trinity Golf Champions League in New Delhi.

Gambhir does not have any coaching experience like Ravi Shastri or Rahul Dravid. However, his success with KKR as captain in the IPL has played a massive role in the BCCI's willingness to appoint him for this tough job. He won two titles as captain with the Kolkata Knight Riders and helped KKR win their third title as a mentor. What was interesting to watch was how he brought the best out of the players and asked them to play with an attacking template. He will surely add to the team given his pedigree in the game.

Gautam Gambhir's Challenges Going Forward: Continuing India's World Cup Domination

The challenge for Gautam Gambhir will be about how he keeps the current players united and takes the legacy of Rahul Dravid forward. Dravid ended his tenure with an ICC title helping India end their ICC title drought. Under Gambhir, India will be playing the Champions Trophy 2025, the WTC 2023-25 final, the T20 World Cup 2026, and the ODI World Cup 2027.

Gambhir has a challenging tenure ahead, including the five-Test series in Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year. Another major challenge for him will be his equation with Virat Kohli in ODI and Test cricket. Gambhir has played with the likes of Kohli and Rohit Sharma at the start of their careers. Both played alongside him till 2016 when Gambhir retired from international cricket.

Gambhir's fallout with Virat Kohli in IPL 2023 went viral and their equation on and off the field under Gambhir's tenure will be an interesting observation.

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