Rahul Dravid regimented, Gautam Gambhir relaxed: Ravichandran Ashwin

Star off-spinner Ashwin gives insights into working style of India's coaches
NEW DELHI: It was in 2015 that Indian cricket last saw a foreigner as the head coach of the men's team. Zimbabwean Duncan Fletcher was at the helm of affairs till the 2015 ODI World Cup before his contract wasn't renewed. Since then, the Indian team has got four full-time head coaches - Ravi Shastri, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and now Gautam Gambhir.Sanjay Bangar and VVS Laxman chipped in on an interim basis when required.
Dravid was in charge from Nov 2021 till the recent T20 World Cup triumph. Gambhir has taken over since then. Star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been a member of the team since the Duncan Fletcher days and has seen the functioning style of all four Indian coaches from close quarters.
Speaking about the current head coach and his predecessor, Ashwin gave Gambhir the moniker of "relaxed rancho", while terming Dravid to have a "regimented" style of functioning. Contrary to Gambhir's perceived fiery persona, Ashwin said the former India opener is quite laid-back.
"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 with him," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Highlighting the difference between Gambhir and Dravid's coaching styles, Ashwin said, "With Rahul bhai, as soon as we come, he demanded everything to be in order. Even a bottle should be kept at a particular place at a particular time. He is very regimented."
Ashwin said Gambhir, in comparison, is quite the opposite. "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," the off-spinner said.
When Shastri was India's head coach, his working style was more like a "big brother". Ashwin had earlier highlighted how Shastri arranged for a karaoke night and sang Hindi songs to lift the mood in the camp when the team was bowled out for 36 in Adelaide.
"We were not even thinking about a series win because we were just bowled out for 36. The mood in the dressing room was down. Ravi bhai, like a big brother, organised a team dinner. He arranged for a karaoke night; he himself started singing. He sang old Hindi songs. Everybody joined in," Ashwin said. "We didn't think of the series, we kept small targets, and we took each match individually after that."
In the past, Ashwin has spoken highly about Kumble. "There is a saying that whenever you come too close to a celebrity, you get disappointed, but not with respect to Anil bhai," Ashwin had said.