Highs and lows are as natural as day and night in a sportsperson’s career. Only a few are capable of surviving the toughest period and Gautam Gambhir surely belongs to that never-say-never tribe. The Delhi opener who has been out of the Indian team since January is counting on the forthcoming domestic season to regain his spot.
“I am not worried about selection. Instead, I have been working really hard at my game. I am looking forward to the domestic season with a lot of interest,” a fighting-fit Gambhir said on the sidelines of an organ donation campaign here.
After his failures in Australia and England, Gambhir’s batting technique came under scrutiny especially for consistently poking at deliveries outside the off-stump and getting caught in the slips. The left-hander then turned to former India opener W.V. Raman to iron out chinks in his batting. “We worked in Delhi for a week and it went really well. The focus was on a few important areas,” added Gambhir.
Gambhir is no stranger to making sensational comebacks. After being dropped for the 2007 World Cup, the Delhi player worked his way into the Indian team again on the back of his domestic performance.
He made most of the opportunities in Bangladesh, Ireland and England to select himself for the inaugural World T20 where he scored a final-winning fifty.
Gambhir said the turning point of his career was the match against England at Leeds in the 2007 Nat-West Series. “After being dropped from the playing XI for the previous three ODIs, the half-century against England gave me a lot of confidence. My approach also changed after that knock. The runs I scored in South Africa (World T20) can also be attributed to that performance,” said Gambhir, who scored three half-centuries including a crucial 75 runs off 54 balls against Pakistan in the final of the 2007 World T20.
He is a proven T20 performer. The left-hander is not only the highest run-getter for India in international T20; he also guided Kolkata Knight Riders to the tile in the IPL last year. Gambhir is, however, an avid Test fan. “T20 is good entertainment, but the longest format is the ultimate challenge for stamina and skills. That’s why all cricketers dream of performing well in Tests,” said Gambhir.
Gambhir has been a strong advocate of organ donation. The left-handed opener, who became the first cricketer to pledge his organs for donation in 2011, urged school children to join the noble campaign.
“There is no bigger joy than making a difference to the lives of strangers. I would be happy even if one family benefits from this. You need support from your family members for organ donation and I am lucky to have relatives who understand my view. I can’t compel anyone and I never asked any of my team members to follow suit,” said Gambhir, who idolises freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.