Gautam Gambhir often finds a way into the news for his brash and straightforward attitude. And this time around there was no exception as Ricky Ponting caught the slack from the Indian Head Coach ahead of the all-important Border Gavaskar Trophy which starts in 10 days.
The legendary Australian batsman talked about Virat Kohli in a recent interview criticizing the Indian Great for his below-par performance in recent years. He pointed out that Virat Kohli has scored only 2-3 centuries in the past 5 years. A statistic that is very worrying for India. But Gautam Gambhir had his star players’ back and also his Captain Rohit Sharma’s, as he lashed out at Ponting for basically not minding his own business.
The Indian Head Coach was asked whether there were “Any concerns about the form of the two senior batters Rohit and Virat because Rohit’s approach has been a little different to the format he’s been playing and Ponting recently made a statement that some of the players might have been under pressure given he has about three centuries, in five years or something like that”.
Gautam Gambhir responded by saying, “What does Ponting have to do with Indian Cricket? I think he should think about Australian Cricket and more importantly I’ve got no concerns whatsoever for Virat and Rohit. I think they are incredibly tough men. They’ve achieved a lot for Indian cricket and they will continue to achieve a lot in future as well. I think for me, the most important thing is that they still work really hard and they’re still passionate. They still want to achieve a lot more and that is something which is very important. The hunger in that dressing room is incredibly important for me and for the entire group of people as well. I feel there’s a lot of hunger, especially after what has happened in the last series.”
While it is understandable for Gautam Gambhir to back his two stars in the face of criticism, one cannot deny that the hunger they have won’t be of use against the Australian bowling lineup. Will Virat and Rohit step up and perform for India in the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy? Gautam Gambhir certainly thinks so. Do you? Let us know in the comments below.
