"I think parallel to Kapil Dev" - When Gautam Gambhir made a massive statement on veteran Indian cricketer

Gautam Gambhir is the head coach of Team India in all formats right now and the Indian team has performed brilliantly under his guidance. However, before becoming India's head coach, he worked as a broadcaster for a long time after retirement from cricket.

In fact, Gautam Gambhir regularly grabbed the headlines with his statements on air. Back in March 2022, when he was a part of the commentary panel for India's home series against Sri Lanka, he had compared Ravichandran Ashwin with Kapil Dev.

Many cricket fans regard Kapil as one of the greatest Indian all-rounders of all time. Ashwin overtook Kapil to become India's second most successful bowler in Test cricket history in the aforementioned series. Gambhir was then asked on Star Sports if Ashwin stands second on the list of greatest Indian all-rounders behind Kapil.

​

​

"Probably not second. I think parallel to Kapil Dev because of the sort of impact Ravichandran Ashwin has had. Ravichandran Ashwin's impact has been close to that of Kapil Dev," Gambhir had replied.

Ashwin has been a match-winner for India in Test cricket for more than a decade now. He is currently a part of the Indian Test squad for the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia.

Ravichandran Ashwin was the hero for India in Gautam Gambhir's 1st Test win as coach

Gambhir made his debut as India's head coach in Tests for the home series against Bangladesh in September 2024. Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium hosted the first Test, where Ravichandran Ashwin's brilliance helped India win by 280 runs.

​

Ashwin won the Player of the Match award for his 113-run knock and six-wicket haul. The local star's all-round show helped Gambhir start his coaching tenure in Tests with a memorable victory on home turf. India went on to win that series by 2-0 and gained 24 crucial points in the ICC World Test Championship.

​