Former India opener Gautam Gambhir, who is widely speculated to take over from Rahul Dravid as the next Indian men’s cricket team’s head coach after the latter’s role ends post the ongoing T20 World Cup, preferred to remain tight-lipped on his prospects even though he revealed that his mantra has always been based on a team-first philosophy.

Earlier on Tuesday, Gambhir, who recently inspired Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL title haul as a mentor, was interviewed by Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) members Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjape and Sulakshana Naik. Gambhir, however, faces stiff competition from veteran cricketer WV Raman, who was reportedly more impressive in the virtual interview with the CAC members.

At an Indian Chamber of Commerce event in Kolkata on Saturday, Gambhir, when asked about his chances of succeeding Dravid for the top post, chose to remain noncommittal, adding to the mystery surrounding the potential coaching change.

“I don’t see that far ahead. You are grilling me, asking me all tough questions. It is difficult to answer right now. All I can say is that I’m happy being here, just finished a brilliant journey (and) let’s enjoy that. I’m in a very happy space right now,” Gambhir said at a ‘Rise To Leadership’ seminar.

The two-time World Cup winner, however, stated that coaching philosophy is purely based on the “team first ideology”.

“If you have the intent of keeping your team ahead of any individual, things will fall in place. If not today, tomorrow, if not tomorrow, someday it will fall in place. But if you start thinking on that, or if you know that you need to help one or two individuals perform, then your team will only suffer,” he said.

“For me, the guru mantra is team first philosophy. I think team-first ideology, team-first philosophy is the most important ideology in any team sport,” he added.

The KKR job was Gambhir’s second stint in a coaching role after spending a couple of seasons (2022 and 2023) as mentor at Lucknow Super Giants, helping the team qualify for the playoffs both times.

Gambhir had sought time to take a final call during the IPL, but speaking at an event in Abu Dhabi on June 1, he had expressed his desire to coach India. “Look, I would love to coach the Indian team. There is no bigger honour. There is no bigger honour than coaching your national team. You are representing 140 crore Indians. And more across the globe as well. And when you represent India, how can it get bigger than that?,” he had said.

The BCCI is likely to make an official announcement of the appointment by the end of the month, largely depending on India’s campaign at the ongoing T20 World Cup in the Americas.

It has been reliably learnt that even if Gambhir is picked for the role, he will take over the role from the tour of Sri Lanka after the conclusion of the Zimbabwe tour that begins July 5. National Cricket Academy chief VVS Laxman is most likely to accompany the team for the Zimbabwe tour that comprises five T20 Internationals.

The new head coach will be assigned for the next three years, which will include three major ICC tournaments across different formats, starting with the ICC Champions Trophy early 2025.