BCCI to retain Gautam Gambhir as India head coach across formats, source says

The Board of Control for Cricket in India will retain Gautam Gambhir as India’s head coach across all three formats regardless of the outcome of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka that begins on August 15, Revsportz reported. The series is part of India’s campaign in the ICC World Test Championship 2025–27.

India sit fifth in the ICC WTC points table and must finish in the top two to qualify for the WTC final; they face New Zealand in a two-Test series and Australia in a five-Test series later in the cycle. That sequence of fixtures increases the challenge of securing a top-two finish in the 2025–27 WTC.

The report said the BCCI “trusts Gambhir wholeheartedly as the head coach of the Indian team in all three formats,” and the board continues to back him despite poor Test results. According to the same account, Gambhir will remain in post irrespective of the Sri Lanka series outcome.

Gautam Gambhir has enjoyed notable success with India’s white-ball teams, winning two ICC titles — a Champions Trophy and a T20 World Cup — while his record as Test coach has been described in the report as poor. The article states India lost two home series under his tenure, ending an unbeaten run of more than 12 years, and that some critics have called for him to step down as the red-ball coach.

The report quantifies India’s remaining task in the WTC cycle: they have three Test series left — Sri Lanka (2 Tests), New Zealand (2 Tests) and Australia (5 Tests) — and must win at least seven of their remaining nine games to reach the final. The ICC World Test Championship final is scheduled for June 9 to June 13, 2027, at The Oval in London.

Gambhir’s current contract as India’s coach runs until December 2027, and the report notes his future beyond that point is uncertain while confirming he will be coaching India at the Cricket World Cup 2027. The board’s decision keeps him in place through the remainder of his contract.

India will open the three-series WTC run with the two-Test trip against Sri Lanka beginning on August 15, a series the team hopes to win comprehensively to improve WTC qualification chances; the report warns that even a single loss or a draw could have a large impact on those prospects.