Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Friday praised Gautam Gambhir, who is being considered as the successor to Rahul Dravid as India’s head coach. Ashwin lauded Gambhir as a “fighter” and an excellent motivator who gave him significant confidence during the early stages of his Test career. Reflecting on his early days, Ashwin recalled his interactions with Gambhir during his first full series for India against New Zealand in 2012.

“I was playing my first full series. For the first two years before the World Cup (in 2011), I mostly carried drinks. Gautam gave me a lot of confidence at the beginning of my career. I was not used to receiving such support from someone outside my state (Tamil Nadu),” Ravicandran Ashwin remarked during the launch of his book, *I Have the Streets – A Kutti Cricket Story*.

Ashwin, now 37, described the former Indian opener as someone often misunderstood due to his straightforward nature.

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“Gautam Gambhir is a very misunderstood person. It’s all about perception. He is a fighter. The biggest issue with many of us is that we assign hero status to someone in our minds and forget about everyone else. This is a sport, not a movie narrative. There are no heroes and villains. Gambhir is a competitor. His desire and hunger to win is unbelievable. I have massive respect for him,” Ashwin elaborated.

Previously, Gauta Gambhir, during a chat with Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel, had addressed his reputation for not smiling enough, stating that he doesn’t aim to please everyone.

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“I cannot please everyone in this country and I don’t intend to. I don’t even want everyone to know what kind of person I am. For me, it matters that the people who are important to me understand my thoughts and character. I’ve never been concerned about what people say about me. They can think whatever they want. Unless you know someone well, you shouldn’t form a perception about them. People have the right to say what they want, but it doesn’t affect me,” Gambhir had expressed on Ravichandran Ashwin’s YouTube chat show, *Kutti Stories with Ash*.

Ashwin’s admiration for Gambhir highlights the latter’s impact on his career and the respect he commands among his peers, despite public misconceptions.