ormer India opener and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Delhi, Gautam Gambhir turned 38 on Monday. Gambhir retired from international cricket in December 2018 before plunging into politics for his second innings.
Gautam Gambhir played a crucial role in India’s 2011 World Cup win. The former left-handed opener played one of the biggest knocks of his career in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka at the Wankheded Stadium in Mumbai. India lost Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar early in chase of 275 but Gambhir not just steadied the ship but also helped India inch closer to the historic win with a 122-ball 97.
Gambhir said winning the World Cup was his childhood dream and that he was happy to help fulfill the dreams of not just the cricketers but millions of people in the country. “When I look back now, it has been a very long journey and a very satisfying one. I was just 2 years old when India won the first World Cup but my childhood dream was always to be part of a World Cup-winning team, that was probably my only dream as I was growing up,” Gambhir had said after his retirement.
Gambhir also shone in India’s World T20 2007 title win. The left-handed opener played a match-winning knock of 75 in the final against Pakistan in Johannesburg.
Gambhir played 58 Tests scoring 4154 runs, 147 ODIs with 5238 runs and 37 T20Is with 932 runs. Gambhir, who has a total of 20 international hundreds, also was one of the most successful captains in Indian Premier League. He led Kolkata Knight Riders to 2 IPL titles.
In his second innings, Gautam Gambhir found instant success as he the cricketer-turned-politician won the East Delhi seat in the Lok Sabha elections, defeating Congress’ Arvinder Singh Lovely by a margin of 3.91 lakh votes.
Gautam Gambhir’s former teammates and fans took to social media to send wishes on the occasion of his 38th birthday.
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