Gautam Gambhir's head coach appointment set to boost chances of Shreyas Iyer's Team India return: Report

Shreyas Iyer's return to the Indian team remains uncertain after he was removed by the BCCI from the central contract list earlier this year after he ignored the board's directive on compulsory participation in domestic tournaments when away from international action. However, Iyer's international career will likely get a new lease of life with Gautam Gambhir's expected appointment as India's head coach.

Gambhir, who is the leading contender to succeed Rahul Dravid for the India head coach position after the 2024 T20 World Cup, formed a successful partnership with Iyer during Kolkata Knight Riders' successful run to a third IPL title haul last month. KKR had bounced back from two successive seasons of seventh-position finish after Gambhir was appointed as the mentor for the franchise before the start of the 2024 season, while Iyer returned after a year of absence owing to his back injury.

With India set to travel to Sri Lanka in July-August, after touring Zimbabwe for a five-match T20I series next month, which will be Gambhir's first appointment as head coach, Iyer is likely to be picked for both the white-ball campaigns, with more realistic chances of being added to the ODI squad for the matches against the 1996 world champions.

Iyer was earlier removed from BCCI's central contracts, along with wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, after their apparent reluctance to play Ranji Trophy. The Mumbai batter was dropped from the Indian Test side during the series against England earlier this week, after which he was reportedly nursing from a back injury and hence had missed the quarterfinal match. However, he did return for the semifinal and the final before heading into the IPL tournament.

Meanwhile, Gambhir was interviewed by the BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) for the national team's head coach position on Tuesday along with former India cricketer WV Raman. The interviews took place over a Zoom call, with Gambhir, Raman, and CAC head Ashok Malhotra attending virtually.

"Yes, Gambhir appeared for the interview with the CAC. One round of discussions happened today. There is another round expected tomorrow," a BCCI source told PTI.

"Raman was interviewed after Gambhir. It was also on zoom. He also gave his presentation on his vision and road map on Indian cricket. The interview went for around 40 minutes. There were some initial questions by the committee before they looked at the presentation," the source informed.