March 07 2016, 15.09 PM IST || Pocket News Alert
Good team makes a good captain and not the other way around: Gautam Gambhir
Virat Kohli is true finisher: Gautam Gambhir
I played 2011 World Cup for country and not Sachin Temdulkar: Gautam Gambhir
New Delhi: Stating that India has good chance to win the T20 World Cup, former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir while speaking at “Aaj Tak Salaam Cricket” conclave on Monday said Indian team was in good form but it can face serious challenge for team like New Zealand in its group. Whichever team play well will emerge victorious.
Stating that IPL is also a proper format of cricket which fans are loving it a lot, Gambhir said when T20 cricket started he did not use to take it seriously, but once when India won the first T20 World Cup, he started to take this format of cricket seriously.
Gambhir, who played crucial role in India’s victory in the 2011 World Cup, said when everyone in the team was saying that they played to ensure the World Cup is won for Sachin Tendulkar, he said he did it because he played for India. “When you play for the country, you are more dedicated and motivated…Country is much larger than any individual,” he noted. He also said it was difficult to be out of World Cup team in 2015 and had to match on TV.
Taking a dig at Indian Captain Mahender Singh Dhoni, he said Dhoni should decide on which position he wanted to bat, and ideally he should bat at No.6 or 7 position. He asserted that Virat Kohli was the true finisher of the game and not Dhoni as is being widely perceived. He said it was a good team that makes a successful captain and not the other way around. A captain can only plan, what matters is how his team successfully implements it, he added.
Gambhir also said match against Pakistan get more attention and hype, while on the contrary it is much more difficult to play against Australia. Gambhir said apart from India, the chances of New Zealand and South Africa to win the T20 World Cup tournament were high. For India, performance of its spinners would be key apart from how Yuvraj Singh’s plays for the country.
