New Delhi, it was right after a promotional event at a five-star facility in New Delhi a few years ago.
A rare smiling Gautam Gambhir was standing in the lobby when a couple of journalists approached him.
Gambhir, a maverick in every sense of the term, was fighting a cold war with the erstwhile mandarins of Delhi and the District Cricket Association (DDCA) at that time. "Do you know why I fear no one in this establishment? Because "I'm not here to make money," he told those two journalists.
As he begins his new journey as head coach of the Indian men's national team, he is gearing up for one of the most eventful journeys that promises to be a rollercoaster to say the least.
And he should be prepared for some comparisons, too. Rahul Dravid's calm demeanor will not be easily forgotten, especially after he played a key role in India ending an 11-year ICC trophy drought to lift the T20 World Cup just last month. Gambhir will be analyzed through that prism and he will be very aware.
The man from central Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar, the go-to place for Indian civil service aspirants, despite his privileged upbringing, never had it easy in Indian cricket.
Perhaps that's why intensity became second nature to him, as he had to prove himself at every turn. Nothing was handed to him on a plate. Maybe that's why he could never say that winning and losing are part of life. Winning is the heart of Gautam Gambhir's life.
The eternal 'Mr. Indian cricket's Intense never believed in taking prisoners, but to enter that Indian dressing room, albeit in a different capacity, he must know, he would need something much more than sharp strategies or sheer passion to win the complete loyalty of the players.
Three seasons as a coach in IPL and his leadership in KKR leave not even an iota of doubt about his cricketing acumen. Making a monster opener out of a spinner specialist like Sunil Narine, giving wings to a world T20 all-rounder like Andre Russell or unearth a future T20 gem like Suryakumar Yadav (the nickname SKY was coined by Gambhir) or convince Shah Rukh Khan and Venky. Mysore wants to ruin Mitchell Starc, no one can question his ability to read the game.
He adds his faith in the young people he likes, he can go to the end and is even ready to get into a good fight with anyone. He has done it in the past with the late Bishan Singh Bedi and the late Chetan Chauhan for a rookie pacer like Navdeep Saini.
Or it could be literally getting into a youth tussle with Delhi senior coach K.P. Bhaskar, not to forget those epic on-field skirmishes with Virat Kohli. Gambhir is not your typical rival, he is in front of you and ready to make his opinion known out loud.
Just like as captain of Delhi, he attended training for three consecutive days and did not enter the nets until Ajay Jadeja, the designated coach for the season, resigned on the fourth day. Gambhir's logic was simple: there was no possibility of sharing a dressing room with someone accused of match-fixing.
Right or wrong? Well, you could just say that it was Gambhir's doing. Is he always right? A former cricketer, who played with Gambhir for India and the Northern Zone, had a very interesting insight.
"There is no right or wrong path for him. There is only one Gauti Path. Will he change that? Or would he even want to change that? I doubt it. But would he need some adjustment here and there?
"Well, in the Indian dressing room he is a must. That's why Ravi bhai (Shastri) is the players' favourite," said the accomplished player. In the IPL, which features an array of the world's best cricketers, only the roles. Execution is the domain of the players.
A good IPL team doesn't have too many loose ends but a national team always ends up having some.
But an Indian team is where you will find some of the true superstars of the game, and history bears witness that superstars love the status quo. There will be many fragile egos and Gambhir is not exactly a people pleaser.
He feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni gets more credit for his six in the 2011 World Cup final than Zaheer Khan, who bowled an incredible first spell that put Sri Lanka on the back foot.
He never misses an opportunity to drive home the point, even when he knows that Dhoni, like Sachin Tendulkar, is a thrill for the average Indian cricket fan. "I'm not here to smile, I'm here to win," he would tell Ravichandran Ashwin in his YouTube channel.
From what prism you look at Gautam Gambhir will decide how you want to judge him.
One can call him rude for that fight with Kohli or as a team man who represented an Afghan player who represented his IPL team. One can call him an aggressive politician given his tweets unrestrainedly attacking Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, or one could find a kind-hearted MP, who served Re 1 meals to the poor in his canteen and sponsored the education of 25 children of CRPF Personnel, martyred in a Maoist attack.
There are questions and very pertinent ones.
How would you deal with Virat Kohli, easily India's best player by far and with whom you have had a history? He is an alpha male in the IPL Universe, but is he ready to give ground and let Rohit Sharma, who will lead the team in at least two of the three formats, take the spotlight and be a backroom man?
He has had some marathon Test knocks in Napier and Wellington and a classy one in Durban, but what kind of red ball coach will he become?
These answers will not be readily available. He will be layered and will need a nuanced take. It will also be a learning curve for Gambhir but every Indian fan would want him to rise. If he is a downward spiral, will he be able to develop a thick skin? Well, Gautam Gambhir is anything but insensitive. It won't be the easiest trip.
A rare smiling Gautam Gambhir was standing in the lobby when a couple of journalists approached him.
Gambhir, a maverick in every sense of the term, was fighting a cold war with the erstwhile mandarins of Delhi and the District Cricket Association (DDCA) at that time. "Do you know why I fear no one in this establishment? Because "I'm not here to make money," he told those two journalists.
As he begins his new journey as head coach of the Indian men's national team, he is gearing up for one of the most eventful journeys that promises to be a rollercoaster to say the least.
And he should be prepared for some comparisons, too. Rahul Dravid's calm demeanor will not be easily forgotten, especially after he played a key role in India ending an 11-year ICC trophy drought to lift the T20 World Cup just last month. Gambhir will be analyzed through that prism and he will be very aware.
The man from central Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar, the go-to place for Indian civil service aspirants, despite his privileged upbringing, never had it easy in Indian cricket.
Perhaps that's why intensity became second nature to him, as he had to prove himself at every turn. Nothing was handed to him on a plate. Maybe that's why he could never say that winning and losing are part of life. Winning is the heart of Gautam Gambhir's life.
The eternal 'Mr. Indian cricket's Intense never believed in taking prisoners, but to enter that Indian dressing room, albeit in a different capacity, he must know, he would need something much more than sharp strategies or sheer passion to win the complete loyalty of the players.
Three seasons as a coach in IPL and his leadership in KKR leave not even an iota of doubt about his cricketing acumen. Making a monster opener out of a spinner specialist like Sunil Narine, giving wings to a world T20 all-rounder like Andre Russell or unearth a future T20 gem like Suryakumar Yadav (the nickname SKY was coined by Gambhir) or convince Shah Rukh Khan and Venky. Mysore wants to ruin Mitchell Starc, no one can question his ability to read the game.
He adds his faith in the young people he likes, he can go to the end and is even ready to get into a good fight with anyone. He has done it in the past with the late Bishan Singh Bedi and the late Chetan Chauhan for a rookie pacer like Navdeep Saini.
Or it could be literally getting into a youth tussle with Delhi senior coach K.P. Bhaskar, not to forget those epic on-field skirmishes with Virat Kohli. Gambhir is not your typical rival, he is in front of you and ready to make his opinion known out loud.
Just like as captain of Delhi, he attended training for three consecutive days and did not enter the nets until Ajay Jadeja, the designated coach for the season, resigned on the fourth day. Gambhir's logic was simple: there was no possibility of sharing a dressing room with someone accused of match-fixing.
Right or wrong? Well, you could just say that it was Gambhir's doing. Is he always right? A former cricketer, who played with Gambhir for India and the Northern Zone, had a very interesting insight.
"There is no right or wrong path for him. There is only one Gauti Path. Will he change that? Or would he even want to change that? I doubt it. But would he need some adjustment here and there?
"Well, in the Indian dressing room he is a must. That's why Ravi bhai (Shastri) is the players' favourite," said the accomplished player. In the IPL, which features an array of the world's best cricketers, only the roles. Execution is the domain of the players.
A good IPL team doesn't have too many loose ends but a national team always ends up having some.
But an Indian team is where you will find some of the true superstars of the game, and history bears witness that superstars love the status quo. There will be many fragile egos and Gambhir is not exactly a people pleaser.
He feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni gets more credit for his six in the 2011 World Cup final than Zaheer Khan, who bowled an incredible first spell that put Sri Lanka on the back foot.
He never misses an opportunity to drive home the point, even when he knows that Dhoni, like Sachin Tendulkar, is a thrill for the average Indian cricket fan. "I'm not here to smile, I'm here to win," he would tell Ravichandran Ashwin in his YouTube channel.
From what prism you look at Gautam Gambhir will decide how you want to judge him.
One can call him rude for that fight with Kohli or as a team man who represented an Afghan player who represented his IPL team. One can call him an aggressive politician given his tweets unrestrainedly attacking Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, or one could find a kind-hearted MP, who served Re 1 meals to the poor in his canteen and sponsored the education of 25 children of CRPF Personnel, martyred in a Maoist attack.
There are questions and very pertinent ones.
How would you deal with Virat Kohli, easily India's best player by far and with whom you have had a history? He is an alpha male in the IPL Universe, but is he ready to give ground and let Rohit Sharma, who will lead the team in at least two of the three formats, take the spotlight and be a backroom man?
He has had some marathon Test knocks in Napier and Wellington and a classy one in Durban, but what kind of red ball coach will he become?
These answers will not be readily available. He will be layered and will need a nuanced take. It will also be a learning curve for Gambhir but every Indian fan would want him to rise. If he is a downward spiral, will he be able to develop a thick skin? Well, Gautam Gambhir is anything but insensitive. It won't be the easiest trip.
