[WATCH] Team India's new head coach Gautam Gambhir is all set for his first-ever assignmentÂ
Gautam Gambhir, who was recently appointed as the head coach of the Indian men's cricket team, is all set for his first-ever assignment at the helm. The Men in Blue have already reached Sri Lanka for the upcoming limited-overs series, which begins with the T20Is on Saturday, July 27.
In a video posted by the official broadcasters, Gambhir is seen walking down the stairs and entering the field from the pavilion of the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, which will be hosting the entire three-match T20I series between the two nations.
Here's the video:
India will be hoping to begin the Gautam Gambhir era on a winning note
While the second and the third T20Is will be played on July 28 and 30 in Pallekele, the three ODIs will be played on August 2, 4 and 7 at the historic R. Premadasa Stadium in the capital city of Colombo.
Suryakumar Yadav, who has recently been appointed the full-time T20I captain, will be leading the side in the T20Is. Under Surya, India not only won the five-match T20I series against a second-string Australian side in November-December last year by a 4-1 margin but also levelled the three-match T20I series against hosts South Africa 1-1 a few days later.
With Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja announcing their retirements from the T20Is after India won their second ICC Men's T20 World Cup title in Barbados last month, this series assumes much more significance in laying the foundation for a smooth transition in the shortest format of the game.
Meanwhile, skipper Rohit Sharma will be leading a strong ODI squad in which two 2024 IPL stars, Harshit Rana and Riyan Parag, have received their maiden call-ups. Notably, both Harshit and Riyan played for India A at the 2023 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, where the side finished as runners-up having lost to Pakistan A in the final in July last year.
Players of both the T20I as well as the ODI squads will be determined to begin the new era under head coach Gautam Gambhir on a winning note by putting up strong performances and clinching the series against Sri Lanka.