New Delhi: At a time when most of the reputed Indian cricketers have had a forgettable Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017, veteran left-hander Gautam Gambhir has once again proved his mettle in the cash-rich tournament. Gambhir, who has led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to two IPL titles in the past, has been in fine form this season as well – where he has accumulated 425 runs from 12 matches and is ranked third in the list of highest run-scorers.
With the Indian squad for upcoming Champions Trophy set to be picked today, many believe that Gambhir has a fair chance of being picked considering his red hot form in IPL 10.
While his fans would love to see him back in the team, Gambhir was of the opinion that a call-up for the Champions Trophy was not on his mind.
“The moment I start thinking about me scoring runs to be part of the Champions Trophy team, it would be a very, very selfish thing to do. And being a leader you can’t do that. If I start thinking on those lines, there may be so many other guys in the [KKR] team who would be thinking of being in the Champions Trophy squad too and they would be thinking about their own individual performances then. That’s not right. You should always stay in the present. Rest of the things are byproducts – if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t happen, it is fine. Ultimately I don’t play to get selected, I play to win a game of cricket,” Gambhir told ESPNCricinfo
The left-hander, who last played an ODI for India way back in 2013, also added that a batsman’s performance in T20Is should not be considered while picking a team for the 50-over format.
“T20 runs should only be a criteria to get selected for a T20 side. The moment you start picking players in the one-day format by their T20 performance, then you are giving your domestic 50-over competitions absolutely no relevance,” he said.
After delaying the squad announcement, Indian board is all set to pick India’s 15-man squad today. The selectors will have a tough time selecting the openers. It remains to be seen whether Lokesh Rahul, who missed IPL 2017 after undergoing a shoulder surgery, is declared fit for the tournament. Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane are other three players in contention.
Men in Blue are the defending champions, as they defeated England in 2013 final to lift the trophy.
India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening match scheduled to be played on June 4.
Source: Zee News