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Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel pointed out the difference between Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid as coaches, saying that both have distinct styles but Gambhir was the more relaxed of the two.
This might come as a shock to many given Dravid’s calm demeanour and Gambhir’s fiery persona but according to Ashwin, the ex-Kolkata Knight Riders’ mentor is very laid back behind the scenes.
“I think he (Gambhir) is very relaxed. I want to call him ‘relaxed rancho’. There’s no pressure at all. In the morning, there will be a team huddle. He is very relaxed about that as well. He will be like, ‘Are you coming, please come’; it’s like that,” Ashwin said.
“With Rahul bhai, as soon as we come, he demanded in order. Even a bottle should be kept at a particular place at a particular time. He is very regimented. With Gambhir, he doesn’t expect all that. He has a relaxed order and will be a people’s man. He will capture everybody’s heart, and I think he will be loved by the boys,” Ashwin added.
Dravid left India’s coaching job in July this year after successfully helping the Men in Blue win the 2024 T20 World Cup, their first ICC title since the Champions Trophy in 2023. He recently signed with the Rajasthan Royals as their head coach and will look to guide them to their first Indian Premier League Trophy since the inaugural 2008 season.
Gambhir, meanwhile, was pivotal in helping the Kolkata Knight Riders win their 3rd IPL trophy in the 2023 season. As India coach, he has won a T20I series against Sri Lanka but lost an ODI series against them.
More recently, he guided India to victory in the 1st Test against Bangladesh in Chennai and will be aiming for a series whitewash in Kanpur.
