Gambhir backs under-fire Ishant on CT flop show

India opener Gautam Gambhir today threw his weight behind pacer Ishant Sharma, who is under fire for his lacklustre performance in the Champions Trophy, saying the young bowler needs support not criticism at this crucial juncture of his career.

India opener Gautam Gambhir on Wednesday threw his weight behind pacer Ishant Sharma, who is under fire for his lacklustre performance in the Champions Trophy, saying the young bowler needs support not criticism at this crucial juncture of his career.

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Ishant and his colleagues drew flak from all quarters for their wayward display during the Champions Trophy after India failed to go past the group stage of the elite eight-nation ICC event.

But Gambhir said the bowlers were not to be blamed for the debacle and the team paid the price for just one bad outing against Pakistan in their opening match.

"I am not the only one who is disappointed with the Champions Trophy result, every member of the team is disappointed. We played just one bad game and we were out of the tournament," said the Delhi Daredevils' captain ahead of the Champions League Twenty20.

"We were little unlucky as we could have won against Australia but the match was washed out," he said.

He feels his Delhi team-mate Ishant has performed well for India since making his debut two years ago and has the potential to lead India's pace attack.