Gautam Gambhir becomes India head coach without finalizing salary contract with BCCI: Report

Gautam Gambhir was finally unveiled as Team India's head coach on Tuesday (July 9). BCCI secretary Jay Shah himself announced the news on X (formerly Twitter).

The former India opener has succeeded Rahul Dravid as the India coach. Dravid had taken charge of the team in 2021 and his tenure ended after India's victory in the T20 World Cup last month. Gautam Gambhir was the front-runner to replace Dravid for quite some time now. His name had started doing the rounds in May itself when he was plying his trade as a mentor for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL.

While Gautam Gambhir has accepted the role of India's head coach, reports suggest that he is yet to finalize the salary negotiations with the board. Recently, another report stated that the salary negotiation was the main reason why BCCI delayed announcing him as the head coach.

And although the board has confirmed him as the new coach, the salary negotiation is still ongoing. As per a report in PTI, the former India cricketer's salary is expected to be in the same range as his predecessor Rahul Dravid.

"For Gautam, it was important that he took charge and salary and other stuff can be worked out as it's not going anywhere. It is similar to the case of Ravi Shastri in 2014 when he was first made Director of Cricket over head coach Duncan Fletcher," a BCCI source told PTI.

"The day Ravi joined, he didn't even have a contract and things worked out. In the case of Gautam also, some finer details are being worked out. The salary will be in the same range of Rahul Dravid," he added.

Gautam Gambhir on becoming India head coach:

Soon after being announced as the India head coach, Gautam Gambhir took to X to send out a message to the fans. The former cricketer expressed his delight over his return to the Indian team and vowed to make the country proud.

Meanwhile, his first assignment will be the tour of Sri Lanka that will get underway later this month. Before the series, the BCCI is also expected to finalize the names of the other support staff members such as the batting and bowling coaches. As per reports, the likes of Abhishek Nayar and Vinay Kumar are in contention for the roles.