BCCI All Set To Appoint Both Gautam Gambhir And WV Raman As Team India Coaches: Report

Till Monday, ex-India cricketer Gautam Gambhir was the only candidate who could replace Rahul Dravid as team India's head coach, but now there is a contender for the post. According to several reports, the BCCI had already reached an agreement with Gautam Gambhir, and the official announcement was set to be made this month after India’s campaign would end in the ongoing tournament. But now Gambhir is facing a stiff challenge from former cricketer Woorkeri Venkat Raman, whom the BCCI had also interviewed on Tuesday.  
 
Raman, who has played 28 international matches, comes with a lot of coaching experience. He has much more experience than Gambhir, who has mentored just two IPL franchises in the last three years and helped KKR lift their third IPL title.  
 
After announcing his retirement from international cricket, Raman guided Tamil Nadu and Bengal teams in domestic cricket and then shifted to IPL, where he was the assistant coach of Punjab Kings in 2013 and the batting coach for KKR. He also guided the Indian women’s cricket team from 2018 to 2021.

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Gambhir had taken Raman’s help in 2013, when he was going through a lean patch and then they met again at the KKR camp in 2014, and won their second IPL title. 

 
According to the latest News18 report, it is due to Raman’s experience and his brilliant interview for the position, that there are high chances that BCCI could appoint both.  
 
“The Indian cricket board must look at utilizing the services of both Raman and Gambhir. There are numerous ways in which one can do that – say have Gambhir as head coach and Raman as batting coach or allow Raman to have more say in red ball. Lot of ways one can use them because both can benefit Indian cricket and that’s what one should look at,” a source close to the board was quoted as saying to Hindustan Times.  
 
The CAC members- Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjape, and Sulakshana Naik will have a huge headache over picking between Gambhir and Raman. As per the report, there are also rumors that the board would also interview a foreign coach but that hasn’t happened yet and now the race has come down to these two former Indian cricketers.