'It's to feed 5000 people' - Gautam Gambhir responds to criticism regarding working in IPL

Gautam Gambhir is one of India’s most celebrated cricket figures and is known for his honest and unfiltered opinions on and off the pitch. The southpaw has been working as a politician after retiring from cricket. In a recent interview, when he was questioned about his participation in the IPL despite being an active politician, he replied in trademark ‘Gambhir’ style.

Gambhir is an MP for the East Delhi constituency, associated with Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP). The former cricketer also runs a kitchen called ‘Jan Rasoi’, which offers meals to the underprivileged at just INR 1. The kitchen was founded under the drive of the ‘Ek Asha Jan Rasoi’ program to eradicate hunger and malnutrition from society.

The World Cup winner has also set up a library in the same area. When the former Indian opener was asked about his commitments to the IPL despite being an active MP, the veteran came up with a strong response. Gambhir said that he needed funds to continue the welfare work in the community for the poor.

“Why I commentate in IPL or work in it is because I spend INR 25 lakh every month to feed 5000 people. This translates to roughly Rs. 2.75 crore per year. I’ve also spent INR 25 lakh to build a library,” said Gambhir in a press conference.

“I spend all of this money from my own pocket and not from the MPLAD fund. The MPLAD fund doesn’t run my kitchen or other things that I do. I don’t have a tree in my house from where I can pluck money either,” he added.

I have no shame in admitting that I work in the IPL: Gautam Gambhir

The former KKR captain has been associated with the IPL as a commentator in previous seasons. But this year, he was part of the Lucknow Super Giants franchise as a mentor. Under his mentorship, the Lucknow-based franchise made it to the playoffs in their debut season before being knocked out by RCB.

The Delhi man revealed that he feels no shame in admitting that he is associated with an IPL franchise and does commentary in the IPL. “Only because I work, am I able to feed those 5000 people or establish that library. I have no shame in saying that I do commentary and work in the IPL. All of this that I do has an ultimate goal,” he explained further.