Former Indian cricketer and world cup hero Gautam Gambhir is known for his blunt statement, which never fails to strike a chord. On Sunday, Gambhir was at the top of the trends list as his exclusive interview for News 18 was a big hit among the fans.
In his interview with News 18, Gautam Gambhir got candid and opened up about several issues related to cricket and politics.
Here, in this article, we bring you the five biggest statements made by Gautam Gambhir in his interview. Have a look:
Gautam Gambhir hailed Virat Kohli for his contribution to Team India:
Gambhir was asked about the moment when he gave away his Man of the Match award to Virat Kohli. Responding to this, Gambhir said:
“I’ve lots of respect for what Virat Kohli has done for India”.
India is a nation obsessed with individuals:
In his latest interview with News 18, Gambhir also said that India was not a team-obsessed country but rather it is a nation obsessed with individuals. He said:
“Our country is not a team-obsessed one but rather an individual-obsessed one. We think of certain individuals to be bigger than the team. In other countries like England, New Zealand and Australia the team is greater than any individual. And the stakeholders of Indian cricket, from broadcasters to media, have unfortunately been reduced to PR agencies. They’ll show just 3 people the whole day. If you have made a 50 and i have also made a 50, if you keep showing one person, everyone will think that he is the only star. The other person will be termed underrated,”
He added: “Who makes a player underrated? The broadcasters do, the experts do and social media does. If you talk about just one player’s performance, the other will be automatically underrated. Both have grafted equally but if one’s performance does not get credited, he/she will always remain underrated. This obsession with individuals is the reason why India have not won any major ICC trophy for a long time.”
Gambhir on his infamous fight with Kohli:
Gautam Gambhir revealed some unknown details about the incident. He explained that he did what he did because he felt Naveen did nothing wrong. He said:
“I have a lot of fights on the cricket field, I always keep them limited to the cricket field. A lot of people said a lot of things and demanded that I give interviews for TRP. There is no need for a flashback, it was an argument between two individuals that happened on the cricket field. If it had happened outside, you would have called it a fight but this was just two individuals who wanted to win for their team.”
He added: “I will just say this and not elaborate much, and I will say what I did, which I will endorse as I did for a person who was completely right in that match. If I felt Naveen-ul-Haq did nothing wrong, it was my responsibility to stand with him. If my teammate is wrong, I will never stand with him”
Relationship with Dhoni and Kohli
Gautam Gambhir talked about his equation with Dhoni and Kohli and shared that his fight with the players is not personal. He said:
“My relationship with MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli are the same. If there is an argument between us, it stays only on the field, not off field. There’s nothing personal. They want to win as much as I do,”
Gambhir on Yashasvi Jaiswal’s future:
Yashasvi Jaiswal impressed one and all with his performance in the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League. Talking about him, Gambhir said:
“Yashasvi Jaiswal should be in India’s team for the next T20 World Cup”.
