There have been quite a few top Indian cricketers who never received the kind of farewell they deserved. Former batter Gautam Gambhir was one of them. As quoted by PTI, Gambhir even hoped of a national comeback at the age of 36 amid a spectacular Ranji Trophy 2017-18 campaign with Delhi.
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Unlike some current cricketers, Gambhir never stopped playing domestic cricket even after getting dropped from the national team. Even years after last playing white-ball cricket for India, he remained a sought-after campaigner in the Indian Premier League.
India’s hero in the finals of ICC World Twenty20 2007 and ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, Gambhir played a total of 242 international matches across formats between 2003-2016.
Gautam Gambhir Was Hopeful For His International Comeback At The Age Of 36
Making an international comeback at the age that Gambhir was in 2017 is no mean task. In an interview with PTI quoted by The Economic Times in December 2017, Gambhir had admitted to be feeling the hunger in him despite being in the twilight of his career.
Gambhir was clear that he would play the game till the time he felt the same motivation while lifting the bat. Known for his straightforward and outspoken nature, he even denied talking to the selectors for he believes that his job is restricted to scoring runs.
“Keep scoring runs, that is what you can control and you can do. You can’t control things which are not in your hands. The only thing you can control is to get a bat in your hand, go out there, perform and score as many runs as possible.
“That is what you are meant to do and that is what I am trying to do. This year is no difference from what I used to do last year. The motivation is exactly the same. The day I don’t feel the same I will not hang around.”
Delhi lost in the Ranji Trophy final that year, but Gambhir had a season to remember with the bat. He was the sixth-highest run-scorer with 683 runs coming at an average of 56.91 with the help of three centuries and two half-centuries.
When Did Gautam Gambhir Play His Last International Match For India?
Gambhir played his last Test in November 2016 against England in Rajkot. After getting dropped in 2014, Gambhir was back in the side a couple of years later for New Zealand Tests. He played one Test registering a half-century against the Black Caps in Indore.
Gambhir was then named batter KL Rahul‘s replacement for England Tests. He played the first match in Rajkot where he scored 29 (72) and 0 (6) across both the innings. Fit for the second match, Rahul replaced Gambhir in the Playing XI under unsurprising circumstances. Gambhir, meanwhile, never go to wear the Indian jersey again.
At 37, former Kolkata Knight Riders captain finally announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in December 2018. A Ranji Trophy match against Andhra was his last representative game. Having registered a 43rd first-class century, Gambhir exited the game in style by scoring 112 (185) in the first innings.
