Ravichandran Ashwin opens up about his equation with Gautam Gambhir

Ravichandran Ashwin will have a key role to play in India's quest to make it to their third World Test Championship (WTC) final in a row. They will first take on Bangladesh in a two-match series in September-November before welcoming Tim Southee's New Zealand, against whom they will play three Tests, starting October 16. India will then jet off to Australia, where they will play the hosts in a five-match Test series.

Ashwin, who has over 500 Test wickets, will certainly have a say in all those matches. He is yet to officially work under Gautam Gambhir since the latter took over as the head coach, but says he has a good relationship with the former opener. 

“Gautam is someone I still share a very, very good relationship with because he is a very straightforward and 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 told PTI. 

The off-spinning all-rounder also believes that there should be some incentives for young kids in the country to play for India in the current landscape.

“I am very glad that a lot of young kids are coming now and making a good amount of money. It is changing their livelihood, changing the status of their families. It’s unbelievable for India, for the Indian cricketing ecosystem,” he said.

“But I still feel there must be some incentive and some motivation for all these kids to want to play for India, and that’s absolutely in the hands of the stakeholders and the decision-makers.”

Since making his Test debut in 2011, Ashwin has picked up 516 wickets at 23.75. He is no mug with the bat either, having slammed over 3,000 runs in the format, including five tons.

If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out — big time. Play Fantasy on Cricket.com NOW! Download the App here.