Former Indian batter Gautam Gambhir had played exactly 100 ODIs before he was handed the additional responsibility of leading the national team for the first time. With then-captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and vice-captain Virender Sehwag rested for a five-match ODI series against New Zealand, Gambhir was promoted to lead a squad sans other seniors namely Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan.
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Much like how Gambhir wouldn’t have led India to a thumping 5-0 series whitewash had either of Dhoni or Sehwag played the last home series before ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, former all-rounder Yusuf Pathan wouldn’t have registered his only ODI World Cup participation had Gambhir not proposed his name to the then selection committee led by former batter Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
Around six weeks before the two were bought by Kolkata Knight Riders during Indian Premier League 2011 auction in a move which sowed seeds of the most successful era for the franchise, Gambhir was hell-bent on handing a comeback to Pathan after he missed Asia Cup, Sri Lanka Triangular Series and Australia ODIs earlier in the year.
Interestingly, this piece of information was never revealed by either of Gambhir or Pathan. Sehwag, during his appearance on Sports18‘s special series called ‘Home Of Heroes’ last year, had divulged these details while speaking to former batter Sanjay Manjrekar.
“Gautam Gambhir ka strong point yeh tha ki agar woh kisi ko like karte the na, us player ko chahte the. Toh unhone mujhse request ki, ‘Yaar, ek khiladi hai Yusuf Pathan, agar yeh mujhe mil jaaye na, kyunki MS [Dhoni] hai nahin aur No. 6-7 par woh bade-bade chakke maarte hai, match jeeta sakte hai’ [Gautam Gambhir’s strong point was that he used to be fond of the players he liked. Citing his match-winning ability to hit sixes at will at No. 6-7, he requested me to recommend Yusuf Pathan’s name in MS Dhoni’s absence.],” Sehwag had told Sports18.
Had It Not Been Because Of Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan Might Not Have Played 2011 World Cup
Originally slated to lead India in place of Dhoni, even Sehwag had opted to rest for the series before India’s tour of South Africa 2010-11 to allow Gautam Gambhir an opportunity to lead the country for the first time. Interestingly, Gambhir’s chance to captain Delhi Daredevils had also come after Sehwag relinquished the leadership role post IPL 2009.
Initially a bit hesitant to make a pitch for Pathan, who had thwacked 195 (138) with the help of 19 fours and 10 sixes in a Ranji Trophy match against Haryana in Rohtak a week ago, Gambhir got what he wanted after Sehwag obliged to his request by passing along the message to Srikkanth. Having averaged 22.11 across 26 ODI innings before facing an axe earlier that year, Pathan didn’t let Gambhir down by emerging as India’s third-highest run-scorer and second-highest wicket-taker as the hosts whitewashed the Black Caps 5-0.
Coming in to bat at No. 6 with India needing 208 runs off 183 balls to seal a 316-run target in the fourth ODI at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Pathan scored a whirlwind 123* (96) comprising seven fours and as many sixes to confirm his spot for the subsequent assignment in South Africa.
The following month, Pathan scored a match-winning half-century while batting at No. 7 in a low-scoring contest in Cape Town. Although he couldn’t seal a run-chase in a near-identical situation in Centurion, the right-handed batter smashing eight fours and sixes each at a strike rate of 150 during the course of his 105 (70) didn’t allow the selectors to look elsewhere with respect to the world event.
As Sehwag mentions in the above mentioned video, the same wouldn’t have been possible had Gambhir not insisted on bringing back Pathan into the ODI squad. For the unversed, Gambhir and Pathan also enjoyed their best IPL years together at KKR between 2011-2017. Part of two title-winning seasons under the former’s leadership, the pair played for Delhi and Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2018.
Virender Sehwag Wanted Gautam Gambhir To Lead India For A Strange Reason
Been playing together for Delhi since time immemorial, Sehwag shared a strange reason behind him resting for New Zealand ODIs on purpose. In spite of his trust on Gautam Gambhir’s leadership skills, Sehwag stepped aside in order to increase the possibility of him and Gambhir traveling Business Class during flights.
It is worth mentioning that the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) used to buy Business Class flight tickets for only captains and former captains back in the day. On the back of leading India 11 times across formats till then, Sehwag had qualified to receive premium seats on flights.
Gambhir, on the other hand, had to travel Economy without captaining India even once. With both mostly boarding flights from the national capital, Sehwag wanted his opening partner and long-time friend to sit besides him while traveling. Therefore, he chose to skip another competition despite also missing the previous three-match ODI series against Australia.
