June 4 (Punjab Khabarnama) : With Rahul Dravid confirming his much-anticipated exit from the Indian team after the T20 World Cup 2024, former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has decided to throw his hat in the ring for the high-profile job. India head coach Dravid will part ways with Rohit Sharma and Co. at the end of the ICC event, the former India skipper confirmed on Monday. Speaking to reporters at a World Cup press conference, Dravid clarified that he has no plans to re-apply for the head coach post.
The deadline for applying for the top post ended last week. The BCCI has rejected claims that the apex cricket board enquired about former Australian cricketers to succeed Dravid as the next head coach of the Indian team. Former Australian players Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer claimed that the duo rejected approaches for the Indian head coach post.
‘I would love to coach the Indian team’
With Dravid set to leave the Indian team after the ICC event, VVS Laxman and Gautam Gambhir can be considered leading candidates to become the next head coach of the Indian team. Speaking to news agency ANI in Kolkata, former BCCI president Ganguly revealed that he would love to coach the Indian team. “I would love to coach the Indian team,” Ganguly said.
What Ganguly said about Gambhir
Ganguly also gave his ruling on Gambhir’s candidature for the head coach role at Team India. “If he wants to do it, I think he will be a very good candidate,” Ganguly added. Returning to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise as a mentor, Gambhir guided Shreyas Iyer and Co. to their third Indian Premier League (IPL) title in the 2024 season. During an interaction, Gambhir recently opened up about coaching India after the T20 World Cup. Ganguly, who is the Director of Cricket of Delhi Capitals (DC), also reserved special praise for Rishabh Pant in the lead-up to India’s World Cup opener against Ireland.
‘Rishabh Pant will play well’
“He (Rishabh Pant) will play well. He is a good player. The World Cup has not yet started, India is playing its warm-up matches. On 5th June, they are playing their first game. They will do well, they are a good side,” Ganguly added. Pant smashed a quick-fire 53 off 32 balls against Bangladesh in India’s solitary warm-up game at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.