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Gambhir gameplan
Gautam Gambhir, India?s new opening bat, talks to HT City about his Test debut.
Name: Gautam Gambhir. Game: Explosive batting. Idol: Sourav Ganguly. Favourite Star: Sly Stallone. Favourite flick: The First Blood series. Gautam has drawn first blood. And now the left-hander wants to take a gambhir shot at fame.
It isn’t tough to locate Gautam’s place behind the bustling marketplace that is Karol Bagh. His Ramjas Road home is teeming with relatives. He has just won a Test cap and the Delhi opener is over the moon. “This is what I’ve dreamt about for 15 years,” says the member of the Chand Khanna Cricket Club. “We were watching TV when the team was announced and the first people I called were my nana and nani,” says the assistant administrative officer with ONGC.
According to ONGC cricket in-charge Sunil Khanna, Gambhir, 23, has the strokes to succeed in both versions of the game. “With 19 first class centuries, he has a reputation to live up to. Like Sehwag, Gambhir will serve Indian cricket for a long time,” says Khanna. Concurs BCCI vice president CK Khanna, the first to spot Gambhir’s mercurial talent. “He has a voracious appetite for runs,” he points out.
Khanna is not exaggerating. In the last season, Gambhir scored four centuries, amassing 877 runs in 10 matches.
If it was Madhav Mantri who inspired Sunil Gavaskar to take to the gentleman’s game, it is Gautam’s mama Pavan Gulati who eggs him on in tough times. “Right from the under-14 stage he’s had his ups and downs. But each verdict that has gone against him has made Gautam a better player.”
When he’s not hitting the ball with panache, Gambhir likes to go on a long drive in his Maruti Esteem, with Jagjit Singh’s ghazals playing on his car stereo. “One doesn’t want heavy metal after a day out in the nets!”
The son of a Chandni Chowk textile merchant and homemaker mom is looking forward to his debut at the Mumbai Test. The Indian opener’s slot has gone to a worthy player. The cap fits.
