Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has made a shocking revelation about his early days as a cricketer. He stated that he was not selected for the U-14 tournament team because he did not touch the coach’s feet.

Gautam Gambhir is one of the greatest players to have played for the Indian cricket team. The left-hander played a pivotal role in India’s victory in the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 Cricket World Cup. He was the man of the final because he played stupendously well under pressure.

Gautam Gambhir has etched his name as one of the best players to have played for India. He made his presence felt in India across all three formats of the game and has been one of the main reasons behind the team’s dominance during his playing days.

Gautam Gambhir was also the captain of India and was also successful as a leader of the team. The left-hander was seen as one of the best top-order batsmen in the world and had plenty of runs for the team in all three formats.

During an interaction with Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel, Gautam Gambhir narrated how he was not selected for the U-14 team because he did not greet the selectors well. He revealed that at that moment he realized that he would not let anyone touch his feet.

Gautam Gambhir recalled that when he rose through the ranks, and sometimes when he didn’t get runs, people used to tell him that he didn’t need to play cricket because he came from a good family. He added:

“When I was a kid, maybe when I was 12 or 13, I didn’t get selected when I tried out for my first under-14 tournament because I didn’t touch the coach’s feet. Since then I promised myself that I will never ever touch anyone’s feet and I don’t let anyone touch my feet.

“I remember throughout my career, every time I failed, whether it was at under-16 level, under-19 level, in the Ranji Trophy or even initially in my international career, people would say that you come from a family ( accommodated). You don’t need to play cricket. “You have so many (options) that you can join your father’s business.”

So that was the biggest perception I had in my head – Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir, while talking about the same, stated that when people used to tell him that he didn’t need cricket, that became his biggest perception and he wanted to overcome that. He added:

“So that was the biggest perception that was going through my head. People didn’t realize that I loved it more than they did. I wanted to overcome that perception.

“So when I was able to do that, no other perception bothered me. The hardest perception to overcome in my life was that I didn’t want it that much. “I loved him more than any of them.”

Gautam Gambhir played 58 Tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20Is, amassing 4154 runs in Test cricket at an average of 41.95 with nine centuries and 22 half-centuries. In ODIs, he scored 5238 runs at an average of 39.68 with 11 centuries and 34 half-centuries, while in T20Is, he scored 932 runs in 37 matches with five half-centuries at a strike rate of 119.02.