MiD DAY's Sai Mohan visits Modern School in Delhi where India's batting star Gautam Gambhir took his first steps in the game
MiD DAY's Sai Mohan visits Modern School in Delhi where India's batting star Gautam Gambhir took his first steps in the game
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| Modern School's building and cricket pitch in Delhi |
Gautam Gambhir might have established himself as, to quote Virender Sehwag, India's best opening batsman since Sunil Gavaskar, but he had to overcome many an obstacle to reach that pinnacle.
Once dubbed as "too short" to be picked for the Indian team, Gambhir had to prove his critics wrong right from his junior days. And like his batting talent, both his shyness and fighting spirit, the two qualities that have marked him out from the rest of the team, were visible early in his childhood.
MiD DAY visited the 29-year-old's alma mater, Modern School, where his mettle was evident even in those early years.u00a0 "There are introverts, and there is Gautam," said Meena Joshi, the school's head of sports, who has known Gambhir since he was six.
"He was always very shy and never gave away what he had in his mind. He showed what he was thinking through actions. He was rebellious and used to play pranks.
"There was lot of spark and endurance in the kid. Luckily there were enough people who understood his strengths and channelled his energy in the right direction. The distractions and the glitz did not hold much appeal for him."
Gambhir keeps visiting the school on invitation.u00a0 "He still doesn't make eye contact with his teachers, always puts his head down when he talks as a mark of respect, and touches their feet. He's a gem of a person.
However, he's still a very naughty boy," Joshi laughed.u00a0 "It's just that he never lets us notice his pranks," she added. Naveen Chopra, who shaped Gambhir's batting over the years, recalled an incident that marked him out for his cricketing acumen.
"It was an under-16 match. We needed 100 runs on the final day, and the ball was turning a lot. But, Gautam made Abhinav Bali, who was at that time an India under-19 spinner, look pedestrian. After the match, he said, 'I didn't allow him to pitch the ball, so how would it turn'," Chopra said.
"He smashed Bali to all corners of the ground, and meted out similar treatment to Ashish Nehra and Amit Bhandari, who were all, much more senior to him, later in another match. He was at least three or four years younger than all these guys, but was already outsmarting them."
Joshi said Gambhir's maturity beyond his age made him a leader of men.
"At a very young age, we wanted to make him a leader. He never faced any competition from the boys of his age. That gave him a lot of confidence. He had the assurance from everyone that he was the school's best batsman and captain," she said.
The first major disappointment for Gambhir was when he was ignored by the national selectors despite notching back-to-back double hundreds against the touring Zimbabweans in 2002.
"I clearly remember that day when he was so gutted. He told me: 'Sir, I am going to score so many runs that it will become impossible for them to ignore me. One day, I will reach the level of Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar'," said Chopra.
Former India cricketer Madan Lal's son Kunal had to bear the brunt of Gambhir's anger in a local match. "He (Gambhir) wanted to prove a point. He had just scored 217 against Zimbabwe, and Madan Lal, who was selector at that time, thought Gambhir was too short and didn't have the strength to succeed at international level," said Chopra. Recently, the Arjuna Award came his way, and so did the ICC Test Player of the Year award. Many more awards to come... be rest assured
