Amid the recent backlash against Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir, former teammate and legendary spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has supported his coaching style and highlighted his white-ball success.
Many have been criticizing Gautam Gambhir’s Test statistics, and so now some have come forward praising his statistics as India coach in the other two formats of international cricket. One of them is former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
Since taking over as coach, Gautam Gambhir has won the series against England and the Champions Trophy as part of his major projects. However, they lost a series against Sri Lanka and recently lost another in Australia.
“I think white-ball coach GG has already left his mark” – Ravichandran Ashwin hits out at Gautam Gambhir’s critics
Ravichandran Ashwin has claimed that Gautam Gambhir has already shown what he is capable of with his tremendous dominance in white-ball cricket. He also said that Gambhir has actively brought an aggressive approach in limited overs within the Indian team.
Highlighting his ability as a white-ball coach, R Ashwin said, “I think white-ball coach GG has already left his mark.” He has not only selected aggressive cricketers but is also reshaping the mindset of Indian cricketers in limited overs cricket.
“But it’s a huge credit to the IPL in many ways. It has produced some extremely brilliant, brilliant white-ball cricketers for India,” Ashwin was quick to add, adding that it was the IPL that helped Gambhir create an environment for coaching and subsequently selecting players from the IPL season to strengthen India’s T20I campaigns.
“A fearless brand of cricket is what we always wanted to be,” Ashwin said.
Many big names have made it to international cricket from the IPL; However, Ravichandran Ashwin singled out Abhishek Sharma as the man who broke the bridge between IPL and international cricket.
“And, namely, Abhishek Sharma. He is a cricketer I would love to see again in the T20 format. His exploits in the format will also decide where India go in the T20 World Cup.”
“A bit of a fearless approach. At one time, I played for India in the T20 format and always wanted the batsmen to play that way. It doesn’t always happen when you are playing. It happens when you retire. So, I am glad it happened. A fearless brand of cricket, which we always wanted,” Ashwin said about India’s new style of play.
After all the praise for the coach, Ravichandran Ashwin finally had some nice words for the Indian captain. But he was careful to draw a line between Gambhir’s white-ball expertise and his limited ability in red-ball coaching.
Ravichandran Ashwin said, “Under Surya’s leadership, this is a T20 team that will be feared on its day. Certainly, that team will have weaknesses. But they will want all bases covered with Bumrah’s defensive bowling.”
Gautam Gambhir was insulted by fans: After Guwahati, now in Ranchi
Indian team head coach Gautam Gambhir is also facing the anger and disappointment of his fans. After India lost the Test in Guwahati, the stadium was filled with slogans of ‘Gautam Gambhir Hi Hi’ and the public booed loudly against him.
When Gambhir was in a practice session with the Indian team in Ranchi before the start of the ODI series, a viral video clearly shows a man teasing Gambhir and even asking him to leave coaching. Perhaps Gambhir is keen to respond with trophies rather than words this time.
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