India's current head coach
Rahul Dravid
, whose tenure runs till the end of June, has confirmed that the
T20 World Cup
in the US and West Indies will be his last assignment in the role and he won't re-apply for the job, as reported by Cricbuzz.
"It (T20 World Cup) is going to be the last one that I am in-charge of," Dravid said as India prepare to play their tournament opener against Ireland in New York on June 5.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (
BCCI
) had advertised for the position, and Dravid's India teammate
Gautam Gambhir
is considered to be the frontrunner to replace him.
"Just considering, unfortunately, the kind of schedules and where I find myself at this stage in my life, I don't think I'll be able to re-apply. So yeah, obviously it'll be my last one," said Dravid.
"I love doing the job. I've really enjoyed coaching India and I think it's a truly special job to do, and I enjoyed working with this team and it's a great bunch of boys to work with."
Speculations around Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) mentor Gambhir being the frontrunner for the role gained strength when the BCCI secretary met the former India opener after KKR won IPL 2024 to be crowned champions for the third time.
Gambhir, who was part of India's T20 World Cup and ODI World Cup winning teams, was the KKR captain when the franchise won its first two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014. He joined KKR as mentor just before the start of this year's IPL season.
Gambhir has also voiced his interest for the role of India's head coach, saying that it will be an honour for him.
"I would love to coach the Indian team. There is no bigger honour than coaching your national team. You are representing 140 crore Indians and those across the globe as well," the 42-year-old Gambhir had said at an event in Abu Dhabi.
English (US) ·