Gautam Gambhir says that he doesn't play for selection and only wishes to contribute to his team's cause

Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has said that he doesn’t play thinking about his selection and his focus lies more on scoring runs for the team which he plays for. The 34-year-old, who was present at the launch of the Indian Junior Premier League(IJPL), of which he is the brand ambassador, added that the selectors could have their opinion and his job was to go out and ensure that his team wins.

“I don’t play for selection honestly. Ultimately my job is to score runs and that is what I focus on.

“You should just go out there and look to control things which you can control, rest is selectors job. Whatever the selectors decide it is their opinion. My job is to go out there and help my team in winning,” the left-hander told reporters on the sidelines of the event.

Gambhir had a fine Duleep Trophy, where he led India Blue to the title and amassed 376 runs in the three matches, that included half-centuries in four out of the five innings.

But despite those exploits, he didn’t find his name in the 15-man squad that was picked for the series against New Zealand, on Monday, with the selectors sticking to the trio of Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay and KL Rahul.

Speaking about the visiting Kiwi squad, Gambhir felt that they have always been the underdogs and added that the spinners from whichever team did well in the series, that team would be the eventual winners.

“New Zealand has always been a very gritty kind of a side. They have always been underdogs, no one rates them very highly but they have always done well in every conditions.

“They have got a good squad. They have got three spinners (in Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and Mark Craig) and spinners of whichever sides bowl well it will eventually decide the series,” he added.

The first of the three Tests start next Thursday at the Green Park stadium in Kanpur, prior to which New Zealand will play a warm-up game against defending Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi, starting on Friday.

The Kanpur curator has already said that the wicket for the opening Test will be a slow turner.