Calcutta (The Telegraph): Gautam Gambhir was in the city to shoot an episode for the reality show, Ke Hobe Banglar Kotipati, anchored by former India captain Sourav Ganguly, on Sunday. The former India captain asked Gambhir a range of questions. They included:
On his idols
As a left-handed opener, I have always idolised Dada. (Smiles) Like all, I have been an admirer of his shots on the off-side. Outside the cricket field, I idolised Bhagat Singh.
The turning point of his career
Most definitely, the centuries against Australia in the 2007-08 ODI series. one in Sydney (113), another in Brisbane (102). Before that tour, I was scoring in patches. I lacked consistency. But after those centuries, I was a changed cricketer. My confidence grew in leaps and bounds. I never looked back after that.
On opening partner Virender Sehwag
He makes batting so easy. He will start hitting the ball from the very first delivery, irrespective of the nature of the pitch or who he is facing. He will just go for his shots. This eases the pressure immensely. Even when the ball is doing quite a bit, he'll hit a four and then say, "there's nothing in the pitch". (laughs)
On captaincy
I led the national team in the series against New Zealand last year. I have also led the IPL sides, Delhi DareDevils and Kolkata Knight Riders. Captaining the national side is a matter of huge honour and pride. Every cricketer in the country dreams to lead the national side. So, I won't compare anything with that... But surely, captaining Kolkata Knight Riders was also a great experience.
Dhoni as captain
He is a real cool customer. It seems nothing can put him under pressure. Whatever the situation, he is always under control. The best thing about his captaincy is he backs the newcomers a lot. He makes sure that every player gets enough chance to prove himself. It's very important. Much like Dada. Most of the senior players in the current team started under Dada.
Whether there was any pressure when the team was reduced to 31 for two at one point in the Cup final
Honestly speaking, had I thought about it I would have been under pressure. But I never got a chance to think. All I was focusing on was to just carry on.
Missing a century in the Cup final
The important thing is we won the Cup... But, well, it would have been great to get the century. Actually, all through the innings, I was concentrating on my batting, not the score. I was just trying to focus on each and every delivery. But Dhoni reminded me that I was nearing my century. For a fraction of a second, I started thinking about it. It was a bad shot.
The difference between winning T20 World Cup and ODI World Cup
Well, both are special in their own way. One can't compare the two. It was the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup and winning it was a great achievement. And, we all know how important the ODI World Cup win was. It had come after 28 years and we deserved it.
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