Aakash Chopra opens up on relationship with Gautam Gambhir

In a world majorly filled with aggressive sportspersons in their youth toning it down post-retirement to become commentators with a filtered approach in terms of expressing their viewpoints, former Delhi batters, Aakash Chopra and Gautam Gambhir, stand out from the rest quite prominently. The two were at one point in time, teammates opening the batting for their state team.

The cricketer-turned-commentator, in a recent discussion, shared an interesting anecdote regarding the immense competitiveness which had the Delhi team embroiled in having to juggle between their star players back in the day. Chopra also opened up on the admirable personality traits of the current head coach of the Indian team, as well as certain aspects in which he lacked a bit.

“We (me and Gambhir) are competitors because we were fighting for one place. Our team was very good. When we were playing, only one of (Virat) Kohli and (Shikhar) Dhawan got the chance to play. The team was like that. In fact, there was no place for even Viru (Virender Sehwag) to open the batting. Viru batted at four so that we can accommodate one of Shikhar and Virat at 3,” recalled Chopra on Figuring Out podcast, hosted by Raj Shamani.

“We were competitors to begin with. He wasn't a friend, to be honest. (But he was a) very passionate guy, very hard working, and very serious about his craft. He scored a lot of runs. He always wore his heart on the sleeve, was extremely passionate, and could short-fuse very quickly in terms of temperament,” mentioned Chopra.

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Gambhir was born with a golden spoon, not even silver: Chopra

Furthering on the same topic, Chopra expressed that the privileged upbringing of Gambhir had absolutely no effect on his hunger for putting in his all during training sessions, something which the former admired whole-heartedly.

“He's a good-hearted guy, comes from a very affluent family. For that sort of kid to have that kind of passion...he would be at the ground the whole day. He was born with a golden spoon, not even silver. It's a different journey, basically like that of Abhinav Bindra. Gautam has his heart at the right place,” added Chopra.

Born into a family which already had a textile business being run by the World Cup winner's father, Deepak Gambhir, Gambhir could've easily inculcated an indifferent attitude during his formative years. However, he didn't, and his track record with the Indian team speaks for itself. His relentless hunger for winning even overflowed onto his coaching and mentorship stints with the Lucknow Super Giants and the Kolkata Knight Riders, respectively.

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While his coaching stint with the Indian group has begun on a mixed note, it is clearly discernible that the results have not deterred Gambhir from believing one bit. He would be more than eager to make a lot of cherished memories of winning with the Indian team as head coach, starting from their imminent Test series against Bangladesh.