Ravichandran Ashwin unmasks Gautam Gambhir’s true self for world to see

The 37-year-old India National Cricket Team off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has shared his bold views on the newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir, who began his tenure with the series against Sri Lanka National Cricket Team.

Gautam Gambhir was roped in as the India National Cricket Team head coach after the tenure of Rahul Dravid ended. Dravid ended his tenure on a high as he guided India to the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup win to end their ICC trophy drought.

Under Gautam Gambhir, India started off well as they hammered Sri Lanka National Cricket Team in the away T20I series, which was also the first series of Suryakumar Yadav as the full-time captain.

Many expected India to continue with their dominance on the tour by crushing Sri Lanka in the following ODI series in the presence of a full-strength line-up. However, that didn't happen as Rohit Sharma & Co. lost by 0-2 and Gautam Gambhir tasted his first series loss as India head coach.

It will be a huge challenge for Gambhir to make sure that India National Cricket Team forget the loss against Sri Lanka and move on as they have a lengthy home season coming up with Test matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand as well as an away Border-Gavaskar series against Australia.

Ahead of the Test season, Ravichandran Ashwin shared his honest views on Gambhir. He said that the India head coach is a very straightforward and honest person and they share a great bond. Ashwin went on to label Gautam Gambhir as the hero of Indian cricket for his contributions.

"Gautam is someone I still share a very, very good relationship with because he is a very straightforward and honest guy. I think Gautam is also one of those guys that we should always be backing. He's a hero of Indian cricket," Ravichandran Ashwin said in an interaction with PTI news agency.

I am very glad that a lot of young kids are coming now and making a good amount of money - Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin recently showcased his all-round heroics in the Tamil Nadu Premier League and guided Dindigul Dragons to the triumph. He spoke about how the young cricketers in India are making a good amount of money, which is changing their lives.

"I am very glad that a lot of young kids are coming now and making a good amount of money. It is changing their livelihood, changing the status of their families. It's unbelievable for India, for the Indian cricketing ecosystem," Ravichandran Ashwin said.

"But I still feel there must be some incentive and some motivation for all these kids to want to play for India, and that's absolutely in the hands of the stakeholders and the decision-makers."

Ravichandran Ashwin's role will be crucial for India in the upcoming Test matches, especially the ones that will be played at home against Bangladesh and New Zealand. The Test matches against Bangladesh will begin on September 19 and 27, while the Test games against the Kiwis will commence on October 16, 24, and November 1.