Gautam Gambhir Says only Indians like Sourav Ganguly Can Talk, Not Chappell

Gautam Gambhir is many things but shy he may no longer be. In a candid conversation with the original Dada from Kolkata, Gambhir opened up about his angst against yet another Chappell brother.

Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir has grown in stature from being named ICC’s Test player of the year to becoming the Kolkata Knight Riders captain in the IPL 4 season. Incidentally he succeeded Sourav Ganguly altogether the latter lost his contract with his home base as well as the Shah Rukh Khan owned team chose not to retain the Prince of Kolkata.

But Ganguly’s new role behind the camera is for the popular show – Who wants to become a millionare? aka Kaun banega Crorepati aka Ke Hobey Banglar Kotipoti, the Bengali version of the popular game show on television. In that role, he invited the present KKR captain to join him. With Kolkata Knight Riders doing better than ever, naturally it would have seemed like the right choice to make, particularly with all the speculation of ill will between Ganguly and the KKR IPL franchisee over his being dropped.

Gambhir chose to speak on a range of issues from his proximity to his grandmother, his own beliefs and practices but also, shed light on a topic that has been touchy with regard to Gambhir. Gambhir did not always taste the kind of success that he is surrounded back. In many ways, his newfound success is like a second innings in his short cricket career which he has often attributed to a change in mindset.

Gambhir was rather upset when Ian Chappell, brother of former Indian coach, Greg Chappell, and former Australian captain, reckoned that Gambhir did not deserve a place in the Indian team. Gambhir did see both sides of being in the Indian cricket team, from struggling to establish himself to becoming an integral member of the team. And Gambhir is clearly for players being given opportunities to prove their mettle than be written off at the first sight of a downturn.

In that Gambhir made another strong statement during the conversation of the show wherein he stated that while he was not opposed to the idea of a fellow Indian like Sourav Ganguly give vent to his thoughts, he was opposed to an outsider, as he chose to view Ian Chappell, making statements about who should or should not make the team.

Gautam Gambhir perhaps feels that the former Indian captain has better insight into the player’s capabilities that Ian Chappell when it comes to picking future talent. Now that Gambhir has firmly launched himself as pivotal to India’s success in the role of the opener, he is in a position of authority to bat for all young talent that goes through the stress and pressure of trying to make more of themselves and thereby, sometimes upstaging their own performance. Gambhir believes that no player should be judged by one failure alone but given time to nurture his talent na dbring it to the fore. It is certainly voicing what Gambhir has always been on the inside- a believer of true talent, determined to the core, and strong minded, even though his shy countenance and soft voice do not always give off the impression. But only one would write off Gambhir at their own peril. Perhaps that is the message Gambhir is trying to send across for any player that may have the talent but may not be able to deliver it rightaway.