‘Sometimes sledging gets the best out of you’
Cricketer Gautam
Gambhir (above) is known for his aggression and on field banter with the opposition. However he showed his fun side, when he visited HT City, to meet the winners of Stars in the City contest and mark his association as the brand ambassador for Mission Parakaram –– under the CSR Initiative by Fever Voice of Change. From joking about his spat with Shahid Afridi, to identifying the best imitator of Ishant Sharma, Gambhir was at his candid best while in conversation with Sonal Kalra, National Editor, Entertainment and lifestyle. Excerpts from the interview: You’ve won IPL twice as part of Kolkata Knight Riders. Do you wish to win it one more time as part of the Delhi team? I think my heart is still with Delhi. I played for three years for Delhi (Daredevils). Somewhere, deep within my heart, I’d love to finish with Delhi. Though I am the captain of KKR, and would want them to win it for the third time, but since I’m a Delhi boy too, I obviously want Delhi Daredevils to do well as well. Harbhajan recently said that IPL is very difficult for bowlers. Do you think IPL favours the batsmen more? A bowler will always say it’s a batsman’s game. If you ask me, a batsman has very few opportunities as compared to a bowler. A bowler knows, if he gets hit for a six or a boundary, he has another delivery left to get back and take a wicket. For a batsman, one loose shot, and you are out. A bowler will always have 24 opportunities. Sledging becomes a hot topic whenever India is playing Australia. How much of it is good? For me, it’s fine to be aggressive and play hard. As long as you’re not getting personal, it’s fine and you can, do whatever you can, to upset the opposition. I’ve had some arguments on the field, which were never personal. Sledging makes things interesting. There are no robots playing. They are humans who want to perform well for the country. So when stakes are so high, emotions will take over. Sometimes sledging gets the best out of you. If we ask you ‘Gauti ko field pe gussa kyu aata hai’, what would you say? Mere ko field pe gussa haarne se aata hai. I know how depressing it is to walk into a dressing room. I want to return to a happier dressing room where people are cracking jokes and just enjoying among themselves.