India coach Gautam Gambhir with Virat Kohli© AFP
Ravichandran Ashwin lavished praise on Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir and labelled their passion for Indian cricket “palpable.” The era of ‘Gamball’ is well underway after Rahul Dravid guided India to its ultimate dream as the head coach. During his reign, India ended more than a decade-long wait for the ICC World Cup trophy by lifting the T20 title earlier this year. As Dravid’s tenure ended, Gautam Gambhir was named as his successor. Ashwin has had the opportunity to play under the wing of both stars. He pointed out that there isn’t a huge gap between Gambhir and Dravid’s approach or the passion that the duo shares for Indian cricket.
“I was seeing some posts about ‘Gamball’–someone had shared something about it, which was interesting. But look, the coaches are here for the welfare of the team, and I don’t see huge differences in how they approach the game or the passion they have for Indian cricket. Their passion is at the highest level. I mean, they bring an incredible amount of love to that dressing room,” Ashwin said on JioCinema after the match.
“I feel a bit sheepish saying this, but I played with Gauti Bhai and Rahul Bhai, and they’ve been my coaches in that dressing room. Their passion for Indian cricket is palpable, and it’s amazing to witness. To have them pass on their knowledge, it’s like having two cricketing geeks to talk cricket with, and I couldn’t be happier or more at ease,” he added.
The new era of Indian cricket has begun with a mixed bag of results. In his first T20I assignment, India won the T20I series against Sri Lanka.
Days after securing the series, India unprecedentedly lost the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. However, India bounced back in the Test format to complete the series sweep over Bangladesh.
After India extended its lead at the top of the World Test Championship standings, their focus will now shift to T20I format for the three-match series against Bangladesh. India’s focus will then move to Test cricket for the three-match series against New Zealand.
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