Former Indian cricketer and World Cup hero Gautam Gambhir have highlighted one major difference between former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri and the incumbent, Rahul Dravid.
Ravi Shastri’s tenure as the Indian head coach recently came to an end. Though, India may have failed to win an ICC trophy but the team reached new heights under the guidance of Ravi Shastri. Team India’s consistent performances in all three formats of the game, especially India’s dominance in Test cricket, remains a high point on his CV.
Team India finished as runners-up in the 2017 Champions Trophy, semi-finalists in the 2019 World Cup, and runners-up in the WTC before a disappointing end to the T20 WC 2021. Team India remained trophyless under his guidance and this is the reason why his tenure is looked back with mixed reviews.
Meanwhile, recently during an interaction with the Times Now Navbharat, Gautam Gambhir was asked about the legacy of Ravi Shastri. Responding to this, Gautam Gambhir criticized Ravi Shastri for his statements in the media regarding India’s Test wins overseas. He said:
“The one thing I found surprising is that when you play well, you don’t usually boast about it. It’s fine if others talk about it; when we won the 2011 World Cup, no one gave statements saying that this team is the best in the world, let alone country.”
Shastri had famously hailed team India under Virat Kohli as the best Indian Test team of all time during the 2018 tour of England. Gambhir feels that Rahul Dravid will never make such statements and his main focus will be on players being good people first. He said:
“When you win, let others talk about it. You won in Australia, that’s a big achievement, no doubt. You won in England, performed well, no doubt. But let others praise you. You won’t hear such statements from Rahul Dravid. Whether India plays good or bad, his statements will always remain balanced. Moreover, it will reflect on other players,”
He added:
“Humility is very important, whether you play good or bad. Cricket won’t go on forever. I think Dravid’s major focus will be on players being good people first,”
Meanwhile, Rahul Dravid has kickstarted his tenure with the Indian cricket team on a high note as the team managed to pull off a clean sweep in the 3 match-T20I series against New Zealand. The Men in Blue will now be locking their horns with New Zealand in the upcoming 2-match Test series.
