Gautam Gambhir’s playing days have long been over, but the former India opener hasn’t lost a bit of his aggressive touch and can still step out and launch his opponents out of the ground.
The latest example of that came on Tuesday when Gambhir, speaking at ‘ABP India at 2047 Summit’, lashed out at his critics. On his target, it seemed, were two former India Test stars, though Gambhir, the current India head coach, did not take any names.
“I am into this job for eight months. If results don’t come, I am fine with criticism. It is people’s job to criticise. There are people who are sitting in the commentary box for 25 years and feel that Indian cricket is their personal fiefdom. Indian cricket’s no one’s personal property and it belongs to 140 crore Indians,” he stated.
“These people have raised questions about my coaching, concussions (when he left the 2011 tour of England after a head injury), distribution of Champions Trophy prize money... I don’t owe any explanation to anyone as to whether I have given(prize) money or not...Those living in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones atothers,” Gambhir said.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, in one of his columns, had wondered whether Gambhir would share the prize money with the support staff, following the example of his predecessor Rahul Dravid who had shared the windfall with the support staff after India’s T20 World Cup win.
Mutual respect
Gambhir also cleared the air about his relationship with senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, dismissing any differences with them.
“...who are these people, who are saying all these things? These are speculations done by experts and those who run YouTube channels. Two months back, a coach and a captain together won a Champions Trophy.
“Imagine what you would ask if we wouldn’t have won CT... I respect what Rohit has done for Indian cricket. I have got a lot of time for someone like Rohit Sharma. It was from start and it will remain like that with him.
“A coach’s job isn’t selecting the team. It is the job of selectors to select... Till the time they (Rohit and Kohli) are performing, they should be a part of the team. When you start and when you end, is your individual decision,” Gambhir said.
