"Rahul Dravid And Co. Was Different...": Rohit Sharma Has 2 Words For Gautam Gambhir And New India Support Staff

In Gautam Gambhirs first outing as coach, India swept the T20I series against Sri Lanka 3-0, but lost the ensuing ODI series 0-2

India captain Rohit Sharma on Tuesday said head coach Gautam Gambhir's style is different from his predecessor Rahul Dravid but insisted he shares a good rapport with the new appointee, and the rest of his fresh set of support staff. Gambhir, a World Cup-winning former opener, took charge of India in July during a white ball tour to Sri Lanka, and will now helm the team in its first Test series under his tutelage against Bangladesh, beginning here from Thursday.

In Gambhir's first outing as coach, India swept the T20I series against the Islanders 3-0, but lost the ensuing ODI series 0-2. "Obviously, Rahul bhai, Vikram Rathour (former batting coach) and Paras Mhambrey (former bowling coach) were a different team and it is only acceptable that the new support staff will bring different perspective," Rohit said in the pre-series press conference on Tuesday.

"But the matches that we engaged in (with the new staff) in Sri Lanka, they seemed to be sensible and understanding. They began to learn things pretty quickly within the team," he added.

Dravid's tenure ended after India's T20 World Cup triumph in the West Indies and he will next be seen heading the coaching staff of IPL side Rajasthan Royals. Rathour and Mhambrey were replaced by Abhishek Nayar (assistant coach) and South African Morne Morkel (bowling coach), while former Dutch all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate also joined as an assistant coach.

While Nayar joining the team was largely a given, Morkel and Doeschate, who worked with Gambhir at the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, beat former pacers R Vinayakumar and L Balaji in the race to spots among the India support staff.