"A vulnerable person can't score in pressure situations" - When Gautam Gambhir responded to Paddy Upton's 'mentally insecure' comment
In his book 'The Barefoot Coach' released a few years back, Team India's former mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton made some rather interesting comments on Gautam Gambhir, which grabbed headlines. Sharing his observations on mental toughness, Upton wrote that while Gambhir was a fine batter but was perhaps 'one of the weakest and mentally most insecure'.
Responding to Upton's observations, Gambhir described the former mental conditioning coach of the Indian team as a genuinely nice man. He, however, disagreed with Upton's thoughts and quipped that the publisher of the book may have chosen to edit the part that he wanted to be the best in the world. Speaking to news agency PTI in 2019, Gambhir said (as quoted by DNA):
"Well, Paddy Upton is a genuinely nice man, and he won't have done anything with any sinful intentions. I have full faith in him. In any case, my insecurities as a cricketer are well-documented. It is not as if Paddy has spoken about something that was not there in public domain."
Gaambir also explained that his so-called insecurities had its roots in him wanting to be the best version of himself as a batter and always wanting to get better, elbatorating:
"It doesn't hurt me but I would like to put things in perspective. Look, what Paddy couldn't say maybe he didn't know or the publisher of the book chose to edit it that I wanted the Indian team and myself to be the best in the world. That is why I was not satisfied even after scoring a 100 and wanted to score 200 as has been mentioned in Paddy's book. I see nothing wrong there."
Gambhir represented India in 242 matches across the three formats of the game, scoring 10,324 runs at an average of 38.95, with 20 hundreds and 63 fifties.
Gautam Gambhir played key roles in two of India's World Cup triumphs
While Gambhir's lack of consistency and technical issues marred his legacy as a cricketer, he played crucial roles in two of India's World Cup triumphs. The left-hander top-scored with 75 off 54 in the 2007 T20 World Cup final against Pakistan in Johannesburg. He hit eight fours and two sixes as the Men in Blue won the tense clash by five runs.
The former cricketer also top-scored for India in the 2011 ODI World Cup final against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede in Mumbai. He compiled 97 off 122 balls as India chased down 275 to lift the ODI World Cup after 28 years.