Gautam Gambhir Told That Jay Shah Offered Him To Become The Head Coach Of Team India: Gautam Gambhir was appointed as the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team in July 2024. The tenure of former Indian head coach Rahul Dravid ended after Team India won the T20 World Cup in the year 2024. After this Gambhir took over the post. Of course, after becoming the head coach, the Indian team may have won two ICC trophies, but it also had to face two embarrassing defeats in the home series at the hands of New Zealand and South Africa. Gambhir’s direct appointment as head coach came as a surprise to many, as he had no experience as a head coach.
Jay Shah had offered Gautam Gambhir to become the head coach.
When former Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Jai Shah had offered Gautam Gambhir to become the head coach of Team India, he was also surprised by this. Gautam recently told in ANI’s podcast that when Shah made him this offer, he was not ready for it, but Jay Shah said that he (Gambhir) could not refuse him. Gambhir said, ‘I remember we were playing an IPL match in Mumbai. It was KKR vs Mumbai Indians, and we were staying at the St. Regis Hotel. Jai Bhai (Jay Shah) called me early in the morning and said, ‘I have to make you an offer and you can’t refuse me.’ I asked, ‘What?’ So he said, ‘You have to become the head coach,’ and to be honest, I was not even ready for it at that time.
#WATCH | “We were playing an IPL game in Mumbai, KKR versus Mumbai Indians and it was Jay Bhai (ICC Chairman Jay Shah) who called me…At that time, I wasn’t even ready…When I was offered this job, I had no experience as a head coach, because I’ve never been a head coach of any… pic.twitter.com/JNQyxEm3ck
— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2026
He further said, ‘This was a big surprise for me, because I think it is an honor to be the head coach of the Indian team. This is a special opportunity, because very few people get a chance to go into the dressing room again and wear the Indian jersey and do something special for the country. Tell me, how many former cricketers have got this opportunity? Very little, and then they told me you can’t refuse. Then I spoke to my family and spoke to Natasha (Gambhir’s wife), but hats off to Jai Shah. I had to thank him. I also thanked him in the press conference.
