Gautam Gambhir heaped praise on former Australian batsman Justin Langer for the Indian’s return to the International arena after being overlooked by the selectors since 2014.The Delhi-born batsman got a lifeline during the concluded Test series against New Zealand making a comeback to the team after two years and made the most out of it scoring a half-century in the second innings of the Indore Test.
The dynamic left-hander was dropped from the national side after his poor show during India’s tour to England in 2014, with his never give up attitude, he visited Australia to seek Langer’s assistance and improve on his technique.
Gambhir informed that he met the Australian even before the disappointing England tour and later felt that Langer was the man whom he could trust. As per the reports of the Indian Express, the Indian batsman said, “Even before the England tour, when I was scoring runs, I did not look completely in control of my game. That’s when I met Langer at the Champions League in Hyderabad, some seasons ago.”
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The KKR star also added, “Obviously, he made a lot of sense to me, and with time I realised he was the person whom I could trust. I went to Perth, and spent time with him. His inputs were more mental than technical.”
KL Rahul’s loss, Gambhir’s gain
KL Rahul was in his prime during the last few months, but his injury after the Kanpur Test paved the way for the left-hander into the playing XI. With reformed batting technique, Gambhir played exceptionally well in the Duleep Trophy scoring four half-centuries which caught the eye of the selectors and booked a berth in the Indian Test squad.
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Along with Langer, the Indian batsman worked on various aspects of batting, one of the main being, a change in the batting stance. Gambhir admitted that this particular amendment helped him sight the ball better.
Regarding the matter, he said, “What your eyes can’t see, your hands can’t hit. These were the words of Ali, and it’s applicable in batting as well. Both Justin and I have been discussing it a lot when I was in Australia. If you cannot watch something clearly, your hands will never react.”
With still 10 Tests to be played during India’s domestic season, it will be interesting to see how many matches Gambhir gets to bat in
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