Gautam Gambhir has a straight forward view on India-Pakistan players camaraderie. Gambhir isn’t impressed with players smiling, giving fist bumping on ground. He says this, as the arch-rivals lock horns on 2nd September, in Kandy. However, rain played the spoil sport for marquee clash.
Gambhi, known for his verbal fights with Pakistani players back in the day. However, Gautam Gambhir was left bemused by the camaraderie between players. He stated that players need to be aggressive in their game during the match. He felt that this is because of franchise cricket, where players spent al ot of time with each other.
Commenting on the game, the 41-year old Gautam Gambhir said,
“When you play on the field for your national team, you must leave the friendship outside the boundary ropes. Game face hona zaroori hai. Dosti bahaar rehni chahiye. (It is important to have a game face. The friendship can remain outside during the match). There has to be an aggression in the eyes of both sets of players. You can be as friendly as you want after those six or seven hours of cricket,”
“Those hours are very important, because you’re not just representing yourself, you’re representing a nation of over a billion. These days you see players of rival teams patting each other on the back and exchanging fist bumps during a match. You would never see that a few years ago. Aap friendly match hi khel rahe ho,“
Gautam Gambhir highlighted the subject of sledging, he stated that banter between players is ‘fine’ as long as it does not get personal.
“(You can) sledge, but don’t get personal. You have to stay within your limits. Don’t involve someone’s family member or get too personal. Banter is fine. In games against Australia and Pakistan, there used to be banter,” he said.”
Gautam Gambhir looks forward to (India vs Pakistan) Round 2
Notably, both teams will meet again on 10th September, in Colombo. With rain-treat around, fans of both the sides will be hoping to see the full game.
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