Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir often finds himself in the news for different reasons, at times even for things that are not related to his profession. Known for his solemn and straight-forward demeanour, Gautam Gambhir recently opened up on why ‘he is always intense’ while playing or being involved in cricket. Gambhir is currently plying his trade as mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) season 2024.
Gautam Gambhir led the Kolkata Knight Riders to IPL championships in 2012 and 2014. Making an appearance on Ravichandran Ashwin’s YouTube channel for an episode of ‘Kutti Stories with Ash’, Gautam Gambhir delved into several topics related to cricket, and some even unrelated to cricket.
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Gautam Gambhir addressed criticisms about his serious demeanour on Ashwin's YouTube channel. He emphasised that his priority is winning, not entertaining with smiles, as that's the nature of his profession.
"I don't understand. You know sometimes when people talk about he doesn't smile, he doesn't laugh, he is always intense, he is always grumpy, he is always walking on the edge, he always has the game face on. People don't come to watch me smile, unfortunately. People come to watch me win. That's the kind of profession we guys are in. I can't help it," Gambhir said on ‘Kutti Stories with Ash’.
He stated that as a cricketer, his goal is to return to a winning dressing room, which is naturally a happy one. Gambhir emphasised his commitment to fighting for himself and his teammates within the spirit of the game, and vowed to continue this approach as long as he is involved in cricket.
"I am not in entertainment. I am not a Bollywood actor and I am not in corporate. I am a cricketer. My job is I want to come back in a winning dressing room. And fortunately, unfortunately, a winning dressing room is a happy dressing room, I have all the right to fight for myself, to fight for my teammates and do everything possible within the spirit of the game to try and beat the opposition. That is all I’ve learnt how to do. And I will do it probably till the last day of my life, if I am involved with cricket." he stated.
"I don't understand when people say that he is too hard and he plays the certain way. Yes, I play the certain way, because it helps me perform to the best of my ability. That's my characteristic because for me, it's an obsession, and I'm actually obsessed with winning. What's wrong with that? I'm actually obsessed with winning that that's the problem I have," added the KKR mentor.