“Taught me how…”: R Ashwin about the other candidate for India coach job

The Indian spinner who played domestic cricket under the guidance of the candidate believes that he gave him the freedom to express himself and try new things

Indian veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is gearing up for a big 10-Test season and will also be participating in the Bangladesh series next month under new head coach Gautam Gambhir, someone with whom he has also played a lot. This will be Ashwin’s first series under the new head coach.

“Gautam is someone I still share a very, very good relationship with. Because of the fact that he is a very straightforward and an honest guy. I think Gautam is also one of those guys that we should always be backing. He’s a hero of Indian cricket,” Ashwin said.

Ashwin also talked about his state team coach WV Raman who was incidentally, Gambhir’s only rival for the head coach role. He said that Raman is one of the respected names in Indian cricket and has been a guiding force for him.

“People can give you a helping hand. But they cannot guide you through in your career, you will have to be open to fresh ideas. For me, WV allowed me the freedom to express, and, you know, try new things. He also taught me how and on what path I need to travel, but he never said, ‘This is the path you need to travel upon’, ” Ashwin said.

“So in a way, in my early days, guidance from WV ensured that I was never really over-reliant on anybody.” Ashwin added.

 

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