Gautam Gambhir belts 151 in Vijay Hazare Trophy; fans want him back in Indian team

It’s been almost two years since Indian opener Gautam Gambhir played international cricket last. The dashing southpaw’s downslide in the Indian Premier League, a tournament in which he has done well, in this year’s edition started to give an impression that the Delhi cricketer’s career is setting fast. But on September 28, the 36-year-old made it clear that he is far from hanging up his boots, by slamming a 151 in a domestic game against Kerala.

Kerala captain Sachin Baby won the toss and asked Delhi to bat first in the Group B game in Vijay Hazare Trophy at Feroz Shah Kotla and the hosts made everything out of the opportunity. Gambhir, captaining Delhi, started the innings with wicket-keeper Unmukt Chand (69) and put up 172 runs for the first wicket.

He then put up 123 runs for the second wicket with Dhruv Shorey (99 not out) before retiring hurt. His 151 came in just 104 balls and included 18 fours and four sixes (strike rate of 145.19). Delhi made a mammoth score of 392 for 3 in 50 overs and went on to win the game by a huge margin of 165 runs as Kerala finished at 227 for 8.

Gambhir’s ton revives call for his return to the Indian team

Gambhir’s knock excited his fans and they sought his inclusion in the Indian team. The southpaw, who played crucial knocks in the finals of the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007 and ICC World Cup in 2011, last played an international game in November 2016 when he donned the national colours against England in a Test at home. He played his last ODI in 2013 and last T20I in the year before.

Gambhir has been in a good nick in the Vijay Hazare Trophy this season. In four games, he has already hit 298 runs at an average of 74.50 and is ranked sixth in the list of top run-scorers in the tournament. The Twitterati set the social media platform abuzz seeking his return to the international stage.

Here is how Twitter reacted

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