From World Cup hero to coach: A look at Gautam Gambhir's cricketing legacy

Born in Delhi, Gautam Gambhir is one of the finest players to play for Team India. He started his career with the junior team before debuting for Team India in 2003 against Bangladesh. Gambhir has played key roles in numerous memorable victories for India, especially in ICC tournaments. As Gautam Gambhir takes charge as the coach of Team India, here we look back at some of his notable cricketing moments.

Gambhir started playing cricket at the age of 10 and joined the Lal Bahadur Shastri Cricket Academy in New Delhi. His love for cricket took him to newer heights as he was selected for Junior Team, Delhi Team and finally Team India.

He had a passion for cricket from a very young age and Gambhir got selected for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore in 2000.

In 2003, Gautam Gambhir made his One Day International (ODI) debut for Team India against Bangladesh under cap no. 149. He scored a 50 in the third ODI at the Bangabandhu Stadium.

In 2004, Gautam made his Test debut against Australia, though he didn't score much there. It was against SA where he proved his mettle and scored 96.

Later in the year, Gautam scored his first Test century during the tour of Bangladesh.

Gautam scored his first ODI ton against Sri Lanka in 2005.

He was not picked for 2007 World Cup due to his irregular performances. However, he made a striking comeback with T20 World Cup where he ended up as the second highest run-getter in the tournament.

Gambhir emerged as the highest run-getter of the tournament as his performance helped Team India  to register victory at the 2008 CB series.

From 2008 to 2010, Gautam’s Test career was at its peak as he scored 1134 Test runs at an average of 70.88 in 2008 and upped it in 2009 by scoring at an average of 90.88 scoring 727.

Then came the World Cup 2011 where Gambhir played a match-winning knock of 97 against Sri Lanka in the finals. This remains one of the best innings of his career.

Also, in IPL, Gambhir did play well for Delhi Daredevils and ended up as the second highest run-getter. He then played for KKR where he captained the team to title win twice (2012 and 2014).

Despite no formal coaching experience, Gambhir took charge as a mentor in the Indian Premier League and guided the Lucknow Super Giants in the 2022 and 2023 editions. He then returned to KKR as a mentor in 2024, leading them to their third IPL title.