"Ben Stokes is favorite player of people in Delhi for wrong reasons"- Gautam Gambhir [SK Match Ki Baat Exclusive]
Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir made a light-hearted comment about English Test captain Ben Stokes. Gambhir, who hails from Delhi, mentioned that Stokes was famous in his city for the wrong reasons.
During an appearance on Sportskeeda Cricket's Match Ki Baat Show, Gambhir gave his views on the top all-rounders in world cricket. He took the names of Stokes, Cameron Green, and Andre Russell.
The show's host then cheekily asked him about how Stokes was popular in Delhi for different reasons, to which Gambhir responded:
"Ben Stokes is favorite player of people in Delhi for wrong reasons. He should be their favorite for another reason because he is a quality player. He has incredible quality."
The Impact Player rule has had a negative impact on some all-rounders' roles in IPL 2024. However, Gambhir felt that the cricket world would never see a time when teams would only rely on specialist batters and specialist bowlers.
"I don't think we will see ever see an era of specialists. All-rounders will always, always be in demand. Whatever changes take place in the future, I think all-rounders will be in more demand as compared to specialists. Teams need players who can contribute in all 3 departments," the former Indian opener commented.
"I started my career as a bowler" - Gautam Gambhir explains why he never became an all-rounder
During the same show, Gautam Gambhir mentioned that he began his cricketing career as a specialist bowler before transforming into an opening batter.
Sharing the reason why he never thought of becoming an all-rounder, the former Indian opener said:
"I never thought of becoming an all-rounder. In fact, I started my career as a bowler. I never thought of becoming an all-rounder because when I started opening the batting, I shifted my entire focus towards batting. See the job of an opener is quite challenging, especially in Test cricket."
"If you talk about Test cricket, I don't think there were too many openers who were also all-rounders. It is a specialized job. Imagine you had to field for 150-160 overs while bowling some overs as well, then after 10 minutes, you have to come out to open the batting, the recovery of the body will not be the same. Plus, the mental skill may not be the same," he concluded.
Gambhir had an extremely successful career as an opener for India. He starred in the nation's 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 World Cup triumphs with his fantastic batting performances in the finals.