"If I had a technical flaw, I would not have scored all these runs" - When dropped Gautam Gambhir expressed confidence of making a strong comeback

Former India batter and current head coach Gautam Gambhir made his international debut in 2003. However, it took some time for him to find his feet on the big stage. As a result, the left-handed batter was in and out of the team during the first few years of his international career.

Back in 2006, Gambhir opened up about making a comeback to the Indian team after being dropped on the back of some poor performances. He dismissed claims of having a technical flaw, pointing out the number of runs he had scored in domestic cricket. Speaking to news agency PTI, he had said:

"I got a break into the national team pretty late. I had scored 5,000 runs in domestic cricket already when I got my first break. If you get something the hard way, you are bound to cherish and take it very seriously."

The southpaw also denied trying to copy fellow Delhi cricketer Virender Sehwag and asserted that he was playing his natural game. Gambhir had stated:

"I was manufacturing shots in one-dayers, and if you do that you are bound to make more mistakes and get out. I have never tried to compare myself with Sehwag. I concentrate on my own natural game and try to remain positive."

Answering questions about his technique, the former Delhi batter had admitted that he made a few mistakes in one-dayers, but added that his issues were more in mind than related to his technique. Gambhir had said:

"In one-dayers I concede I have made mistakes but Tests have never been a problem. I have got good starts, I have two 98s in Tests and if I had converted them into 100s, I would have had 3 centuries from 13 matches which is not bad at all. In first-class games I have 20 centuries other than eight or nine scores in the 90s.

"If I had a technical flaw, I would not have scored all these runs. It is said it is most difficult to score your first 20-25 runs. I wouldn't be getting the starts if I had a problem there," he had gone one to explain.

The former left-handed batter made a strong comeback to international cricket and played crucial roles in India's 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup triumphs. He top-scored for the Men in Blue in the finals of both the ICC events.

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Gautam Gambhir's stats in international cricket

Having established himself across formats, Gambhir went on to represent Team India in 58 Tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20Is. The southpaw scored 4,154 runs in Tests at an average of 41.95, with nine hundreds and 22 fifties. In one-dayers, he totaled 5,238 runs at an average of 39.68, with 11 tons and 34 fifties. The current India head coach also scored 932 runs in T20Is at a strike rate of 119.02.