In Galle, Gambhir was brilliant. In Napier, he was phenomenal. In Cape Town, he was spectacular. As he was in general from 2008 to the first half of 2011.
But then, as the old cliché goes, good things always come to an end.
And soon after, it all fell apart. The defence on which people bet their lives on wasn’t so solid anymore. It could be breached. His head, ever so still earlier, started falling away. His weight now rested entirely on his back leg, where once it transferred so well he could smell, in the literal and metaphorical sense both, nothing but leather.
His straight bat now opened up and the slip fielders had their revenge against him for the hours, decades or centuries he had kept them on the field previously. The fall was sharp, and acute. What made it worse was that all the elements gave up on him together. It wasn’t just one flaw, but an entire notebook of problems.
But he still had the fight. And the will to carry on.
He probably always will.
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Dropped at the end of 2012, he went back to the Ranji Trophy and lead Delhi’s resurgence as domestic stalwarts. All the while, trying to battle his great fall. There were runs, but not the solidity. There were marathon block fests, but few and far between. Available was Gambhir, but not his assuredness.
There was one premature recall for the tour to England in 2014, in which it became clear as to how much the gulf between his game and the international standard had increased. He aggregated just 25 runs from four innings, at an average of 6.25.
At the end of that tour, most predicted that his international career was over. Going by pure logic and what you could witness, they probably weren’t wrong.
But then Gambhir did one thing no force could stop him from doing. He fought. And this time, the war was personal.
Centuries didn’t come but came innings which looked like throwback to the good old days. Firm, assured, defeat averting innings. Runs were increasing, as was the time spent at the crease. Gambhir was taking us on a trip down memory lane, making us feel all nostalgic and stuff.
Still, most felt an international comeback was not on the cards. He was nearing 35. He had rubbed the skipper the wrong way. There was the rise and rise of young KL Rahul. The reasons were many. But life doesn’t go by simple logic all the time. Sometimes, it shows you it’s angelic side in the most unexpected manner when things just somehow fall in place.
That’s what happened for Gambhir. The selectors changed, the new coach was fond of Gambhir, he scored runs in the Duleep Trophy, Shikhar Dhawan was not in form and Rahul injured himself.
And just like that, he was back.
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We don’t need an expert to tell that Gambhir will not be the same force, the same unflinching rock he was at his peak.
It’ll also be interesting to note how he copes with a captain who prefers losing while trying to go for victory over drawing matches. The odds are stacked against him, but since when has that bothered him.
But one thing is clear. That when Gambhir steps onto the field, he will go prepared for war. And he will fight even the most improbable of fights. No matter how distinct his ideology is, no captain in the world wouldn’t love their players to have that quality.
Looks can deceive, but not with Gambhir.
He looks hungry. And he most definitely is.
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