"Is it that important?" - Gautam Gambhir reveals his wife's hilarious reaction when he offered her tickets for the 2011 World Cup final

Gautam Gambhir revealed that his then-girlfriend and now wife Natasha had turned down his offer of free tickets for the 2011 World Cup final, asking whether it was "that important" and saying it was "just another game of cricket".

Gambhir top-scored with a brilliant 97 in that iconic match against Sri Lanka at the Wankhade Stadium to help India become world champions after 28 years. He said Natasha realized the gravity of the triumph only after she saw the entire country celebrating, adding that she still feels embarrassed about the incident.

On Jatin Sapru's YouTube show 'Over and Out', Gambhir said:

"After we won the Mohali match against Pakistan and reached Mumbai, I asked her, 'You want to come for the final?'. She said 'Let me think' and then called back and said 'Is it that important? It's just another game of cricket'. She said 'Who'll bother traveling to Mumbai, my sister and brother will come.' So her sister and brother came and then after we won... she only realized when the entire country was celebrating. She said 'Why is the whole country celebrating?' and I said we've won the World Cup after 20-odd years. Even if you ask her now she gets embarrassed about rejecting the offer for that game when her sister and brother were there."

When asked whether having a partner detached from his profession helped him in the game, Gambhir said it wouldn't have made a difference to him even if she had come. The former opener said the occasion and the expectations made him simply "watch the ball" and give his best. He asserted:

"It doesn't matter to me, honestly because it was such a big occasion that whoever was or wasn't in the stadium, it didn't matter.... because ultimately you are going to play such a big match. The occasion doesn't matter to me but somewhere you know you are playing a match where winning will the entire country, 100-odd crore people will be happy with it. When you have such expectations on your shoulder, you ultimately just watch the ball and try and win the contest."

Gambhir famously delayed his marriage until after the tournament. After India's win, they tied the knot in a private ceremony on 28 October 2011.

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"I got suspended for two months" - Gautam Gambhir recalls fascinating story from school

In another fascinating story, Gambhir also talked about how a fight with a rival cricketing team and "shoe fight" that ruined a famous portrait, got him suspended for two months in his last year of school. He recalled:

"I've got into a lot of fights in school... In 12th standard, when every kid wants to go to school, attend the last days, and I was playing Ranji Trophy as well - I got suspended for two months. I straightaway sat in the board exams after that. Even my perfect batch was taken away. We had gone to Mayo College and were playing this ITSC tournament and we got into a fight with DPS (Delhi Public School)."

The former opener added:

"We also did another thing which I now realize was very wrong. As kids you are full of fervor. We were staying in Oman House [Boarding house]. The man on whose name that House was built, had brought a huge portrait with a massive frame from Oman. At night, we had a shoe fight with spikes and all and ruined that picture. The headmaster of that House starting crying."

He remembered calling his friend from a STD booth, only to be shell-shocked and speechless after hearing the news of his suspension. He said:

"We apologized a lot and it got accepted, but that fight during the ITSC tournament... I was playing an U-19 game in Patiala and called one of my friends from the STD booth and said 'How's it going?'. He said, 'I have been suspended'. I asked for how long and he said one week. I said, 'It's ok, you'll be back soon and I'll meet you after one week'. And he said, 'Don't worry, you've been suspended for two months.' I couldn't speak for five minutes and the STD meter kept running! (chuckles)"

Gambhir retired in 2018 as one of India's best openers across formats with 10324 runs, including 20 centuries and 63 half-centuries.

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