Performing in IPL for national call up would be 'selfish' says Gautam Gambhir

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir stated that performing in the IPL should not necessarily imply a national call-up for the Champions Trophy and aiming for a berth in the Indian squad would be ‘selfish’. The spirited left-hander further expressed that performance in the domestic one-day tournaments should be taken as a priority for selection.

Much has been said about the southpaw’s return into the one-day squad after impressive performances in the IPL. Many cricket pundits have backed for Gambhir’s comeback into the one-day squad, given the absence of KL Rahul due to injury. The hashtag of ‘Bring back Gauti’ has been trending on Twitter these days.

In a recent interview with ESPN Cricinfo, Gambhir asserted that performing well in a T20 competition is a different ball game altogether in comparison with a One Day Tournament.

“Absolutely, I totally agree [that T20 numbers should not be the sole criteria for ODI selection]. T20 runs should only be the criteria to get selected for a T20 side. The moment you start picking players in the one-day format by their T20 performance, then you are giving your domestic 50-over competitions absolutely no relevance.” said the 35-year old.

“The moment I start thinking about me scoring runs to be part of the Champions Trophy team, it would be a very, very selfish thing to do. And being a leader you can’t do that. If I start thinking on those lines, there may be so many other guys in the [KKR] team who would be thinking of being in the Champions Trophy squad too and they would be thinking about their own individual performances then. That’s not right. You should always stay in the present. Rest of the things are byproducts – if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t happen, it is fine. Ultimately I don’t play to get selected, I play to win a game of cricket.”

Gambhir further stated that the batsmen should be equipped with proper technique to survive 300 balls in a one-day game and cannot afford to take as many risks as one can take playing a T20 game.

“Imagine, you have two new balls, two bouncers in one over, you have field restrictions, you have got 300 balls, and you have got quality bowlers from both ends with the new ball. You have got to have a tight technique, you can’t be so fearless like how you do it in T20 format. You have got to have a technique to survive those first 10 overs.” augmented the Delhi opener.

He later concluded by saying that there was no point dwelling on the past and thinking about his return to the Indian squad. Gambhir stated that winning matches for his team is of utmost importance to him and he is rejoicing the happiness leading the KKR squad.