“He knew not what it was to back down” – Laxman pays tribute to Gambhir


“He knew not what it was to back down” – Laxman pays tribute to Gambhir

vvs laxman on gautam gambhir

Former Batsman VVS Laxman has started a chain to give tributes to his former colleagues who helped him shape up his career and his life too. Previously, Laxman praised Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath, and Ashish Nehra through his official Twitter handle.

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Laxman hailed Gautam Gambhir and said that the former opening batsman had no idea what it means to back down from challenges.

In a tweet, Laxman wrote: “Massively inquisitive and totally obsessed with the game, @GautamGambhir never shied away from a challenge on a cricket field.

“Whether it was taking on express pace bowlers on spicy tracks overseas or standing up for a wronged teammate, he knew not what it was to back down.”

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Meanwhile, Gambhir who is presently a Delhi BJP MP responded to Laxman and named him as one of the role models in the dressing room. “Tks Special, every moment spent with u was education. Our dressing room was full of role models but none bigger dan u,” Gambhir wrote.

“Another reason why u deserved a grand farewell. BTW am still curious to know why were u always perched at the silly point while I was fighting for life @ short leg,” the former India batsman added.

The 38-year-old scored 4,154 runs in 58 just at an average of 41.95 with 9 centuries in the longest format of cricket and also played 147 ODIs in which he scored 5,238 runs at an average of 39.68 with 11 centuries. In the shortest format of cricket, he scored 932 runs at an average of 27.41 in 37 matches.

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Gambhir’s one of the biggest achievements of his cricket career came in the IPL where he led Kolkata Knight Riders to two title victories in the year 2012 and 2014. However, he had been part of the 2011 ODI World Cup-winning team, where he made his contribution of 97 runs in the final at Wankhede Stadium and helped his side to win over Sri Lanka.

Also read: “Daring to dream big and determined to chase those dreams”: VVS Laxman on Zaheer Khan’s cricket journey