With no international fixtures scheduled for the next three months, India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has already turned his attention to the upcoming five-Test series against England, which begins on June 20. According to a report by The Times of India, Gambhir is set to travel with the India ‘A’ squad during their tour of England before the senior team begins its campaign.
Since the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) does not have a dedicated coach for its developmental teams, it remains uncertain whether Gambhir will join in an observer capacity or if BCCI’s Head of Cricket, VVS Laxman, will oversee the tour. In recent years, after Rahul Dravid took over as the senior team’s head coach, the BCCI assigned National Cricket Academy (NCA) coaches to manage India ‘A’ and U-19 teams. If Gambhir joins the tour, it will mark the first time a senior team head coach accompanies the ‘A’ team.
Sources told The Times of India that Gambhir has been working on a long-term strategy, focusing on India’s campaigns leading up to the 2027 ODI World Cup. His vision also includes India’s participation in the upcoming World Test Championship and the 2026 T20 World Cup.
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“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 official was quoted as saying.
Gambhir’s Role in Team Selection
The report also highlighted Gautam Gambhir’s growing role in team selection. “With India winning the Champions Trophy after Gambhir’s insistence on certain wild card players, one may expect him to assert more in the future,” the source stated.
Reviving India ‘A’ tours has been identified as a key area of focus. The source added, “One of the crucial issues identified is reviving India ‘A’ tours. There have been only a handful of such series since Dravid left the NCA, and most of those were shadow tours for marquee events. Gambhir, too, believes there needs to be more ‘A’ tours. That’s why he wants to take stock of the situation firsthand.”
Gambhir’s Approach to White-Ball Cricket
Gambhir has been vocal about the need to build a specialized T20 squad based on current form rather than blending players across formats. He believes that ODI and T20I teams should be distinctly structured. With India set to play 24 ODIs before the next World Cup, Gambhir aims to finalize the core squad soon.
The selectors and Gambhir will also need to decide whether Rohit Sharma will continue as captain until the 2027 ODI World Cup. “Gambhir has apparently argued that the T20 team is excelling because there is clarity on how players need to approach the format. Barring a few top players, one may expect very few cricketers to feature in both white-ball formats,” the source explained.
