Explained: Why Gautam Gambhir Will Not Be India's Head Coach During The South Africa Series

Just five days after a humiliating defeat to New Zealand in the third Test at the Wankhede Stadium which saw the Rohit Sharma-led suffer a whitewash at home in a series of three or more matches in the longest format of the game, the Indian cricket team will return to action on Friday (November 8) at the Kingsmead Stadium in Durban in the first of four T20Is against South Africa.However, the team will have a new coaching staff for this series and instead of Gautam Gambhir, legendary Indian cricketer VVS Laxman will take charge of the side. No member of Gambhir's coaching staff including assistant coaches Abhishek Nayar and Ryan Ten Doeschate as well as bowling coach Morne Morkel have travelled with the team to South Africa.

Why Is Gautam Gambhir Not With the Squad In South Africa?The reason behind Gambhir's absence in South Africa is down to the tour of Australia for which the Indian Test team are set to fly Down Under in the next 3-4 days. Gambhir and other members of his staff will by flying with the players to Australia as they sharpen preparation for the five-match Test series starting on November 22 in Perth with the aim of retaining the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT).The packed international calendar means that such an arragment has become common in recent years in Indian cricket. Laxman took charge of the team multiple times during Rahul Dravid's tenure as head coach including the 2023 Asian Games. He was the helm of affairs in Zimbabwe earlier this year too for a five-match T20I series which came in between Dravid's tenure ending and Gambhir taking over the top job. It is worth noting that Laxman is the Director of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) since 2021. Not just coaches, no player from the Test squad is part of the T20I team playing in South Africa under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav.