Gautam Gambhir heading home from Australia for personal reasons, to be back for 2nd BGT 2024-25 Test
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir will return home from Australia on Tuesday, November 26, in the middle of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy due to personal reasons, according to multiple reports. He's expected to return before the second Test in Adelaide, starting December 6.
India thumped Australia in the first Test in Perth, winning by 295 runs to take an early lead in the five-match series. Skipper Rohit Sharma was unavailable in the series opener due to personal reasons, having stayed home to be with his family for the birth of his baby boy.
“Gambhir has informed us that he will be travelling back home and will join the team before the start of the second Test. He has cited personal reasons and the BCCI has accepted his request,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying The Indian Express on Monday.
India will travel from Perth to Canberra to play a two-day pink-ball match starting Saturday, November 30. Gambhir is expected to miss the game.
Communication from Gambhir and Rohit is key for KL Rahul's success feels Team India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar
Gambhir's nascent India coaching career has been rough. His tenure started with two wins against Bangladesh but was followed by a historic home whitewash against New Zealand.
However, after the Perth Test, Team India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar lauded Gambhir and Rohit Sharma for KL Rahul's impact in both innings where he scored 26 (74) and 77 (156).
“KL Rahul was informed during the New Zealand Test series that he would open in the first Test against Australia. We were aware that Rohit would be unavailable for the Perth game. The early communication from Gambhir and Rohit was loud and clear. Rahul started preparing for the tour of Australia from there on," Nayar said on Star Sports.
“He was also sent early to Australia to play for India A and get used to the conditions. So, early communication is the reason for his good display over here. Communication plays an important role, and this is what happened in Rahul’s case,” he added.
Rohit, who's expected to play in the second Test and the two-day game in Canberra, would help assistant coaches Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate and fielding coach T Dilip to run the training sessions in Gambhir's absence.