“I'm disappointed but not defeated; I'm cornered but not a coward. Grit my partner, courage my pride...for, I must fight, I must fight...,” Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir posted these words on Twitter, a day after he was left out of the national squad which is set to take on New Zealand later this month.
Gambhir is a man of his words and he would not just lie down and give up. He would start training harder and once again try to prove himself by scoring a bagful of runs in Ranji trophies and the IPLs. But did he not deserve to make the cut for the series against the Black Caps?
Only a few days back, the prolific left-hander scored a stunning 94 in the final of the Duleep trophy where he is presently plying his trade for India Blue. Though it wasn’t a three-figure score, it was a brilliant innings studded with eight delightful boundaries. The delivery that got rid of him, wasn’t that short to cut. The ball took the inside edge and crashed into the stumps. Gambhir was livid with himself as he walked back to the pavilion maybe thinking about the six more runs that could have changed his life again.
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Gambhir did not have a sound start to his international career either. The left-hander made his debut in 2003 against Bangladesh. But till 2007 he had only played in 13 Test matches and 19 One-Day Internationals. He was not picked for the World Cup in the West Indies where India was led by Rahul Dravid. But the quadrennial event saw India fail miserably. And the selectors looked to get younger players on board after the debacle.
Gambhir seized the opportunity after scoring tons of runs in the domestic circuit. Finally, he was sent to South Africa for the 2007 World T20 where Mahendra Singh Dhoni was in charge of a young Indian team. The Delhi left-hander did not disappoint and smashed a match-winning 75 against Pakistan in the final.The knock also got him back into the Test side and after a few technical adjustments he adapted to the format and started scoring plenty with the willow.
He first got the fifties against Sri Lanka in the 2008 series and from there on in the next 13 Tests he blasted his way to eight centuries. These were crucial runs to set up wins and hold on for draws. He played one such inning in Napier where he was at the crease for 11 long hours. Such was his dominance during that time that Virender Sehwag hailed him as the best Indian opener since Sunil Gavaskar.
It was 2011 and the whole world had their eyes fixed on India as the country was co-hosting the 50-over World Cup along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The hosts fought valiantly through the group and ousted Australia and Pakistan to set up a clash with Sri Lanka in the final.
The Islanders had put a challenging 274 for India to chase down and the stage was set for the little left-hander to fire again. And fire he did. Amidst wickets falling at the other end it was Gambhir who stood strong. After a breezy fifty, he carried on to get a 95. India won the game by six wickets with MS Dhoni contributing 91but it was Gambhir who had set up the victory again just like he did it in 2007 in the World T20.
After the 2011 World Cup, Gambhir struggled to perform in Test matches
He had all the accolades coming his way but after the World Cup India went from being sublime to a disaster in Test matches. Gambhir’s form too suffered but it went unpunished after repeated failures in England and Australia. India lost eight consecutive Tests and Gambhir contributed in almost none of them. A few matches later he was finally dropped.
Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay grabbed the vacant spot that Gambhir had left. His next call came when India were struggling in England and he was roped in as a back-up opener in 2014. However, the left-hander was again dropped after just four innings.
Meanwhile, in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Gautam Gambhir has been pulling his side Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) with his batting strength for a few years now. He led them to the crown in 2012 and then again in 2014. In both occasions, he had scored plenty of runs for the franchise. In 2016 too he tried hard and got the purple brigade to the playoffs but then they lost to eventual winners Sunrisers Hyderabad. After the IPL in May, Gambhir put on his pads again in August when he started playing in the Duleep trophy.
He got scores of 77, 90, 59 in the first two matches and then the 94 but still it wasn’t enough to earn him a recall. But as his status says, he isn’t finished just yet and it is for sure he will leave no stone unturned in his quest to return to the national team.
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