Gautam Gambhir is the leading candidate to replace Rahul Dravid for the India manager's post, could the KKR mentor be on board?

Gautam Gambhir, who led Kolkata Knight Riders to their third Indian Premier League title as team coach, met with Board of Control for Cricket in India Secretary General Jay Shah at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday evening.

Gambhir is known to be the leading candidate to succeed Rahul Dravid as India coach when his term ends at the T20 World Cup next month, but the BCCI was not in a position to confirm whether Gambhir had formally expressed his interest, even though the deadline for applications for the job ended on Monday night.

Also Read: Dinesh Karthik analyses Virat Kohli's strike rate trial after IPL 2024: 'Thanks to people like Simon Doul…'

“Let's wait and see the interview process,” a senior official said. Further talks are expected between the two sides, according to other people familiar with the matter. There is no rush to complete the appointment process, so the interview process, which will be conducted by BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) after all applications are received, may extend till later in the World Cup.

If Gambhir takes a decision, it will likely see a revision in the salary of the head coach among other things. The former India international is known to be earning a handsome amount for his services to KKR and broadcasting work. Currently, Dravid's salary is ₹The Indian national team coach gets a salary of Rs 100 crore per annum. However, the Indian team is due for a change in structure soon and the committee wants a modern Indian coach who can lead the team to success again in ICC tournaments. So salary may not be an obstacle. The Indian national team committee recently revised the chief selector's salary for the thrice to bring Ajit Agarkar into the team.

KKR would naturally be keen to keep Gambhir as he has spearheaded the team's title triumphs – he captained them to title victories in 2012 and 2014 – but they may be understanding of Gambhir's ambitions to lead the Indian team.

As of now, there has been no yes or no from Gambhir's side. The BCCI is searching for a long-term coach to guide the team through the 2024-27 ICC event cycle, which includes the ODI Champions Trophy, T20 World Cup and ODI World Cup, apart from the two rounds of the World Test Championship.

It's a commitment that not many big-name coaches are willing to take up unless they get the chance to land a short-term, well-paid job in a T20 league, including the IPL.After Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting denied being in the race to become India's coach, the BCCI publicly announced that they hadn't even approached the Australian.

“Finding the right coach for our national team is a thorough and meticulous process. We are focused on finding someone who has a deep understanding of the structure of Indian cricket and has been a top performer,” Jay Shah said.