5 things you may not have known about birthday boy Gautam Gambhir

Virender Sehwag once famously said, “Gautam Gambhir is the best opener since Sunil Gavaskar.” He is one of the few Indian batsmen who were able to cement their place in all formats of the game.

For those who have followed Gambhir’s journey of cricket closely, it may be difficult to believe how the determined southpaw now finds himself misplaced in the background of Indian Cricket.

A recipient of the Arjuna Award and the ICC Test player of the year in 2009, Gambhir is the only Indian and one of the four international cricketers to have scored five centuries in five consecutive Test matches.

As he turns 35 today, let us unfold some of the not-so-famous facts about Gauti or Double G, as his fans fondly call him.

#1 He funded the Indian Ice Hockey Team

Gautam Gambhir with Indian ice hockey team in Kolkata. Picture credits - TOI

India has an Ice Hockey team which for the past few years was not able to participate in international tournaments due to lack of funds. The Gautam Gambhir Foundation, which was launched in September 2014, helped the Ice Hockey team expand their horizon by donating a sum of Rs. 4.00 lacs ($ 6700). The GG foundation still takes care of all the expenses of the team.

While handing over the donation cheque, Gambhir expressed his concern over the inadequate funds which were acting as a hindrance for athletes to represent their country overseas.

#2 He was the “Bad Boy of the Year” in 2015

Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli had an ugly verbal spat during an IPL match

The 2011 World Cup hero was the worst behaved player of the year 2015, according to BCCI’s list of “state of Indian domestic cricket.” The list included 110 players who were fined for misconduct on the field.

Gambhir was fined 70 per cent of his match fee for threatening to beat up Bengal’s Manoj Tiwary during a Vijay Hazare Trophy match at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

He has been previously involved in many on-field spats, including the famous Kohli-Gambhir IPL argument. The latest report of Gambhir’s misconduct came from an IPL 2016 game between KKR and RCB where the KKR skipper furiously kicked a chair in the dugout in a fit of extreme happiness when his team won.

But what happens on the field, remains on the field!

#3 He shared one of his Man of the Match awards with Virat Kohli

Gambhir shared his MOM award with Kohli in 2009

Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli are known to have strained relations. But not many people remember the presentation ceremony from the December of 2009 which has a different story to tell.

MS Dhoni might not have wanted to share the 2011 World Cup Man of the Match(MOM) award with the second fiddle who scored an equally important innings of 97 runs. But Gambhir shared his MOM award with Virat Kohli after beating Sri Lanka in an ODI at the Eden Gardens. His 224-run third wicket stand with Virat Kohli propelled India to a seven-wicket victory.

In a nice gesture, Gambhir called Kohli to share the award after being declared the Man of the Match at the prize distribution ceremony.

#4 11 fifties in a row

Gambhir, along many ICC Test player of the year, also received Castrol Cricketer of the Year award in 2009

Gambhir has quite a few records to his name, the most famous of all being his 11 half centuries. The southpaw held a prestigious record of scoring 11 50-plus scores in the longest format of the game. Prior to him, only Sir Viv Richards had achieved the feat and after Gambhir, his opening partner Virender Sehwag went on to equal the feat. In 2014, however, AB de Villiers eclipsed the record when he posted his 12th consecutive fifty.

Along with this, he also holds the record of scoring five centuries in five consecutive Test matches. He is also the only Indian to have two 50+ scores in two World Cup finals. No wonder he was one of the most fiercely combative cricketers the Indian team not long ago.

#5 When Gambhir scored a double century with an injury

Gambhir’s determination has always been second to none

As the captain of the Delhi Team in a Ranji Trophy Match, Gambhir injured his palm while taking a quick run, which led to considerable damage to the skin on his palm. He was unable to hold his bat and was retired hurt. The Delhi team was on the verge of receiving a follow-on but their skipper asked them to save the follow on so that he could get some time to recover from his injury if Delhi batted in the fourth innings instead of third.

Gambhir scored a double century in the fourth innings and remained not out. A “fighter” for a reason.

Here’s wishing “Double G” a happy 35^th birthday.