Laxman recently guided India to 3-0 T20I series sweep over Zimbabwe in Harare.
Former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta dismissed the growing comparisons between Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman following the recent T20I series against Zimbabwe.
Serving as interim coach, Laxman guided India to 3-0 T20I series sweep over Zimbabwe in Harare. This result came after the Men in Blue suffered back-to-back whitewash against Ireland (2-0) and England (4-0) under Gambhir.
Consequently, there has been talks of Laxman replacing Gambhir as India’s full-time head coach. Laxman currently serves as the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and has often stepped in as India's stand-in coach when the primary coach is rested.
"With VVS, I can say that he looks to keep the mood balanced. Whether it's 50/5 or 500/5, if there is music playing, it'll continue playing, irrespective of the situation. He likes keeping the dressing room mood balanced, where no one can find out the match situation based on it. The match situation should not dictate the mood is his ideology," Dasgupta said on his YouTube channel.
He added, "Though I don't know Gautam's coaching style, I would like to believe it'll be the same. I am sure Gautam and VVS have regular conversations as well on what's needed from the 15 selected players and those outside. It's sad that we are pitting one against the other when everything is part of one."
Gautam Gambhir took over as India head coach in July 2024. Since then, he has guided India to two ICC titles - Champions Trophy 2025 and T20 World Cup 2026 - the most by any coach in history of Indian cricket. The teams also clinched the Asia Cup under his coaching last tear.
However, the white-ball success has not translated to the traditional format. With Gambhir at the helm, India have won 8, lost 10 and drew two of their 20 Tests so far, which includes a couple of clean sweeps against New Zealand (0-3) and South Africa (0-2) at home.
Deep Dasgupta urged against comparing Gambhir with Laxman, advocating for unity over competition. Using an auto-rickshaw analogy, he stated that different leadership roles within Indian cricket must work in harmony.
"The moment we start pitting VVS vs Gautam and whenever the versus comes into the equation, it becomes a problem. If this versus enters their head, it becomes problematic. VVS has done brilliantly at the COE and as interim head coach. He must be having a winning percentage close to 90. But I don't see a comparison here as it's like the three tyres in an auto that can't go against each other and have to go together," he remarked.