Gautam Gambhir's first assignment as Team India's head coach was a mixed one. While India dominated Sri Lanka to win the T20I series 3-0 in Palleleke, they were outplayed by the hosts in the ODI series in Colombo.

The Men in Blue lost the three-ODI series 2-0 after the first match ended in a tie. The tourists failed to chase down sub-250 targets in all games on turning pitches, including a dismal 138 all-out in the last fixture that saw them suffering a 110-run defeat.

While these are early days, it will be interesting to see how the chemistry between Gambhir and skipper Rohit Sharma develops as the Indian team prepares for a hectic 2024-25 cricket calendar.

The Gambhir-Rohit partnership will return to action later this month in a two-Test series against Bangladesh at home.

Ahead of the series, veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin shared his views on the leadership styles of Rohit and Gambhir.

Ashwin pointed out that while both men possess shrewd cricketing minds but their approaches are poles apart.

“Gauti bhai is very intense. There are similarities between Rohit and Gauti bhai's leadership, but Rohit keeps it light. Gauti bhai is an intense person,” Ashwin said in a candid conversation with journalist Vimal Kumar.

“He (Gambhir) is very passionate about Indian cricket, just like Rahul (Dravid) bhai. Both are very passionate about Indian cricket, but we believe both are different. Yes, they have different personalities. But people are like, 'MS Dhoni was cool, so everyone should be cool'. It isn't like that. Everyone has their own methods, and we should encourage that,” he added.

Ashwin has been away from international cricket since March 2024 when India last played a Test series against England. The off-spinner will be among the first names in the squad when the Indian team returns to Test action against Bangladesh.

The two-Test series is slated to get underway on September 9 at Chepauk.