Gautam Gambhir becomes 1st Indian Head coach to take this drastic measure

It has been just three days since the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 win and Gautam Gambhir has already set his eyes on the plans. As per the reports in Times of India, it is learned that the India head coach is all set to travel to England along with the A team ahead of the five-match Test series between the teams.

Gautam Gambhir has been under massive scanner as Test coach of India. Ever since he has taken over the role, things have been extremely difficult for the side. They faced their first-ever whitewash at home after New Zealand beat them 3-0 last year, and then the Rohit Sharma-led side had a poor Australia tour.

Gautam Gambhir has been under the scanner as Test coach

India, under Gambhir, was humiliated in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 as the Pat Cummins-led side thrashed them 3-1 in the five-match series. This saw Rohit Sharma-led side getting eliminated from the final of the ICC World Test Championship 2025 as well as from a position where they looked favourites.

The next assignment for India will be the five-match Test series against England. This will also mark the new cycle of the ICC World Test Championship. Head coach Gambhir would be keen to start it on a high, and it is reported that he had started planning for it in January this year.

Gautam Gambhir expresses his desire to travel with India A to England to monitor the reserve pool ahead of the Test tour

A source close to BCCI said that Gambhir expressed his desire to travel with India A for England immediately after he returned from Australia. He also mentioned that the head coach personally wants to monitor the reserve pool ahead of the Test tour. Speaking to the Times of India, he said:

"Gambhir has been in discussions with the BCCI since he returned from Australia. He has expressed his desire to travel with the India 'A' team to get a clearer view of the reserve pool," a BCCI source said.

"With India winning the Champions Trophy after Gambhir's insistence for certain wild card players, one may expect him to assert more in future."

If this happens, Gautam Gambhir will become the first Indian coach to travel with the developmental side. The head coach will now have a two-month break since the players will be involved in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Gautam Gambhir wants more A tours and wants to take stock of the situation firsthand

The reports claimed that Gautam Gambhir wants more A tours and wants to take stock of the situation firsthand. The head coach wants to revive the shadow tours as it used to happen when Rahul Dravid was the head of the National Cricket Academy. The source added:

"One of the crucial issues identified is reviving India 'A' tours. There have been only a handful of series after Dravid left NCA and all of those were shadow tours for a marquee series. Gambhir, too, believes that there needs to be more 'A' tours. That's why he wants to take stock of the situation firsthand."

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