Sandeep Patil calls Gautam Gambhir ‘Amitabh Bachchan of Indian Cricket’

Sandeep Patil calls Gautam Gambhir ‘Amitabh Bachchan of Indian Cricket’

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Sandeep Patil, who was the chief selector at the time Gautam Gambhir was ousted from the Indian team, termed Gambhir as the 'Amitabh Bachchan of Indian Cricket' because of his ‘angry young man’ attitude. Patil also claimed that Gambhir has attitude problem, which he believes, led to his downfall.

The heroics of Gautam Gambhir in the finals of 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 50-over World Cup will always hold a special place in the hearts of the fans. In both the World Cups, he was the highest run-scorer in the finals he is often considered to be an unsung hero of Indian Cricket given he has never gained enough spotlight for his marvelous innings for the country. However, despite being one of the major stars of the Indian Cricket team in the 2011 World Cup, things started to change for him after the World Cup and he lost his place in the Indian national side.

Former chief selector Sandeep Patil felt that it was Gambhir’s ‘attitude problem’ that led to his downfall. 

"He was dropped from the Indian team and the main reason behind it was his ever-growing so-called ‘attitude problem’,” Sandeep Patil wrote in an article for The Quint.

Interestingly, Patil nicknamed Gambhir ‘Amitabh Bachchan of Indian Cricket’ because of his ever so angry attitude.  

"It was due to his ‘angry young man’ attitude that I nicknamed him the Amitabh Bachchan of Indian cricket," wrote Patil.

Pointing out the exact incidence which led to Gambhir’s downfall, Patil said that Gambhir’s decision to return to India after being hit by a bouncer during 2011 England series proved to be very costly for him. Surprisingly, Patil mentioned that the scans revealed that Gambhir’s injury was not serious at all and he could have continued to play the series.   

Patil also revealed that Gambhir’s ouster from the team was the end to their friendship, which lasted almost 7-8 years. Patil wrote that Gambhir doesn’t even smile while meeting him even now.  

Selectors decided to give Shikhar Dhawan a chance in place of struggling Gambhir and Dhawan rose to the occasion and scored a blistering hundred against Australia in Mohali in 2013. Gambhir's return to the Indian side was made tougher by the rise of his Delhi teammate. While Murali Vijay also cemented his place as the other opener meant Gambhir had no place in the team. 

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