Hero of India's 2007 and 2011 World Cup triumphs, Gautam Gambhir is facing flak for his comments about the national team's batters following the Rohit Sharma-led side's victory over Zimbabwe in their T20 World Cup game in Melbourne on Sunday. After India made it through to the semifinals of the competition with the help of Suryakumar (Surya) Yadav's blistering 61 off 25 balls, Gautam Gambhir said that Surya was the player of the tournament for him. His statement, however, didn't go well with Virat Kohli fans who blasted him for always undermining the Delhi-born cricket star's performances.
Some went as far as to say that Gautam Gambhir was still feeling insecure with Virat Kohli despite having retired from the sport a couple of years ago.
Others called him jealous, while a few dubbed him an “idiot” whose opinion didn't matter to anyone.
Gambir vastav mein ch*tiya hai
— Mk (@he_persist) November 6, 2022
Don't stress out @GautamGambhir ICC won't ask you before giving the pott, they are unbiased unlike you.
— Hazard (@calm__composed) November 6, 2022
Yeah because he has an eye problem of kohli blindness.
— Ashmit rajput (@Ashmitrajput10) November 6, 2022
The most jealous player..who always cries when kohli is there 🙏 Best white Ball cricketer 🙏🙏 @GautamGambhir @vidit2022 @vicharabhio @Dheerajsingh_ @manoj_dimri @SushantNMehta @rohitjuglan @vikrantgupta73 @NikhilNaz pic.twitter.com/YfIYn8HYh9
— AnmolMisra008 (@Gouravkumar264) November 6, 2022
https://twitter.com/vivek_434/status/1589257731948830720
“There are players like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, who are very orthodox players. Suryakumar Yadav is different. Enjoy, watch and relish it. Because you don't get these kind of players that often and India has never had this kind of player, especially batting at No.4. You will get traditional players who will give you much more consistency, but imagine the strike rate if Suryakumar, what was it, 180 I guess? Above 200 runs, three fifties…he is the Player of the Tournament for me already even if India don't go on to win it. He is already the best because the kind of impact he has had,” Gautam Gambhir said on Star Sports.
“He does not get the luxury of playing those first six overs. But he bats at No.4 and with a strike rate of 175/180. No batter at No.4 has that kind of an impact in this World Cup,” Gautam Gambhir added.
On the other hand, India head coach Rahul Dravid revealed why Surya is the No.1 batter in T20Is in ICC's official rankings.
“That's why he is the No.1 T20I batter in the world at the moment because of that consistency in a format where scoring at a strike rate that he does. It’s not easy to be consistent with the strike rate he is scoring at. It's been fantastic just the way he has been playing,” Rahul Dravid said in the post-match press conference.
“He has been very clear in his processes, his tactics and I think he has worked very hard. One of the things about Surya is the amount of hard work he has put in the nets, thinking about his game and fitness. If I look at Surya from a couple of years ago just to see how he takes care of his body and the amount of time he spends on his fitness, he is earning the rewards for the hard work on and off the field,” the legendary batsman added.
“He is just a joy to watch and it's a pleasure to watch him bat when he is in that kind of form. He puts on a show without a doubt,” Rahul Dravid concluded.
Meanwhile, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar claimed that if Surya wasn't batting the way, he's doing, then India would struggle to put even 140-150 runs on the board.
“Each of those innings was pretty much 360 degrees. He is the new Mr. 360 degree. There was that one shot that he hit for a six just to the left of the wicketkeeper. Then he went a little squarer in the final overs, for example, taking advantage of the angle that the bowler was trying to aim at. Then also the lofted extra cover drive, he has got every shot in the book. There was a straight drive as well,” Sunil Gavaskar told India Today.
“He is actually turning out to be the player who is taking India to totals which you can defend. The score India got was the highest T20I score at the MCG. Without his 61 not out, India would not have reached even 150,” the 1983 World Cup winner opined.
“I think at the moment, there are two batters who are in prime form, Kohli and Suryakumar. It was also good to see KL Rahul get yet another half-century, but he has to look to get more than that for a simple reason. If Surya doesn't fire, then India will struggle to get 140-150. It's therefore very important for Rahul to keep going,” Sunil Gavaskar concluded.
India will now meet England for a place in the T20 World Cup final at the Adelaide Oval a day after Pakistan vs New Zealand semifinal at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Wednesday.
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