Veteran Indian national cricket team spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has spoken about the similarities in leadership between captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir. He said that both are very similar but the intensity of the coach separates the duo.
After the Rahul Dravid era, came the era of captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir in Indian cricket. The former captain of the team was recently appointed as the head coach after the 2024 T20 World Cup and began his stint with the Sri Lanka tour.
Gambhir started his coaching stint on a high as under him the Indian National Cricket Team won the T20I series against the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team by a 3-0 margin.
However, immediately after that, he also faced a setback under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, and the team lost the ODI series 2-0.
The Rohit Sharma-Gautam Gambhir partnership will be extremely crucial for the Indian team going forward. The duo will have to face huge challenges ahead as several Test series are coming up. India is yet to book its place in the final of the World Test Championship, which will be played in 2025.
The Men in Blue have 10 Tests ahead of them, 5 of which are against the Australian National Cricket Team.
A lot will depend on Gambhir and Rohit as to how they will approach the matter and help the team succeed in some of the crucial tasks ahead.
On the other hand, the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is also on the horizon. The tournament will be played in Pakistan in February-March next year. With India winning the 2024 T20 World Cup under Rahul Dravid, the pressure will be on Gambhir to continue the legacy and take the team forward.
Gautam Gambhir is a big fan of Indian cricket, just like Rahul (Dravid) bhai – Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin, who will be vital for the team in the next 10 Test matches, was asked about the leadership similarities between Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma. In response to this, he said that both possess sharp cricketing minds but have different approaches. Speaking to journalist Vimal Kumar, he explained:
“Gauti bhai is very intense. There are similarities between Rohit’s leadership and Gauti bhai’s leadership, but Rohit keeps it light. Gauti bhai is an intense person.”
Ravichandran Ashwin added that while Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid have different personalities, both are passionate about Indian cricket. He also shared his insights on what MS Dhoni was like and said that each has different methods. He added:
“He (Gambhir) is very passionate about Indian cricket, and so is Rahul (Dravid) bhai. Both are very passionate about Indian cricket, but we think they are both different. Yes, they have different personalities.
“But people think, ‘Mr Dhoni was great, so everyone should be great’. That’s not the case. Everyone has their own methods and we should encourage them,” he concluded.
Gambhir, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin will be seen back in action when India take on Bangladesh in the Test series, which begins on September 19.
