Gautam Gambhir lauds Hardik Pandya for making a grand comeback after the TV controversy

He might be busy tackling the hazards of a politicians’ life now but former India opener Gautam Gambhir did not lose track of the just-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019. Gambhir, who had a glorious career in the IPL with two title won for the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2012 and 2014, felt Mumbai Indians (MI), all-rounder, Hardik Pandya had shown a lot of character this season, especially after all the controversies that had engulfed him.

Lauding the ace cricketer for his performance in this IPL with both the bat and ball, Gambhir also said that Mumbai does a great job in identifying their talent pool.

“Another bit that stands out for me is how Mumbai identifies their talent pool. The Pandyas are an example. They were picked out of nowhere and developed into a real force. Honestly, I was worried how the Mumbai team management would react to Hardik’s talk show fiasco. Team owners can be very sensitive to such things but all credit to them for how the whole thing was handled. Hardik never seemed out of depth or out of confidence,” Gambhir wrote in his Times of India column.

Hardik was temporarily suspended for making controversial remarks on TV

Hardik had a torrid time after he and KL Rahul have made controversial statements on a reality TV show hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar in January. He was about to make a comeback to the national side following a long stint with injury but the on-air controversy saw him getting a temporary suspension along with Rahul. It was later lifted and the Baroda all-rounder returned to international games in New Zealand.

Gambhir, who has joined politics after quitting cricket last December and also contested the ongoing Lok Sabha election from Delhi East constituency on the ticket of the ruling BJP, said he was not advocating what Hardik had said but was merely saying that the player and other important stakeholders in his life dealt with the whole thing well.

The former left-hander also spared a few words for Delhi Capitals (formerly Daredevils) that he had led last year only temporarily before losing both the captaincy and a place in the XI because of poor form. He said the Capitals should be proud for making the playoffs and need solid talent scouting to have a bigger talent pool that will stop their over-dependence on people like Rabada and others.

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