Gambit Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 'Cricket is taking away my hair' Losing hair, joining the army, playing in Australia, and being teetotal occupy the mind of the Delhi Daredevils opener Nagraj Gollapudi May 1, 2009 What's the best thing about playing cricket for a living? I play cricket because I love it. The day I feel I'm not giving my 100%, that will be the last day of my cricket. Worst thing about playing cricket for a living? You lose a lot of hair - especially when you are an opening batsman! Like [Virender] Sehwag, I'm losing my hair left, right and centre. Cricket has giving me everything but it is taking away all my hair. Best friend in cricket? Virender Sehwag, Munaf Patel, Amit Mishra and Ishant Sharma. People outside always feel I'm reserved, but when I'm with these guys I'm the only one speaking. I'm very comfortable with each of them and all of them are special to me. Who's the nicest man in cricket? Sehwag. He thinks about the team. The way he gives others confidence, his character, and the way he approaches his cricket and life is an inspiration. If you weren't a cricketer what would you be? The army remains still my first love. When I was growing up I was always passionate about joining the armed forces. But once I started doing well in domestic cricket and everyone started to tell me to focus on my game, that's when I decided to concentrate on my cricket. But given a choice, even now I would like to join the army. What do hotel rooms need to make them more enjoyable? If they can create a homely atmosphere, nothing like it. Which ground has the most hostile crowds? Some of the Australian grounds are nasty. Which ground has the most amusing crowds? I love playing in Mohali. I love the attitude of the local people and I enjoy that very much. Which tour do you most look forward to? Australia. Everything about the place, people, conditions is good, which makes it a hot spot. And you want to challenge yourself there. What drink is the best one to celebrate a victory with? I haven't ever tasted alcohol of any kind. How often do your friends ask you for free tickets to games? Very often. Given an option, every game they would like to ask for at least one ticket. The best sledge you've heard? One comment that made me turn a lot of things around came from Ricky Ponting during the Bangalore Test last year. He said, "You haven't [yet] set the world on fire." That was something I took seriously, and it helped me do well. Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at Cricinfo. This article was first published in The Wisden Cricketer Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rajan Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 He shud be given an honorary Armed forces designation, not sure how u call it, like kapil was given earlier. so nice to see an young man being so interested in an armed forces career! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Q&As - Gautam Gambhir What's the best thing about playing cricket for a living? I play cricket because I love it. The day I feel I'm not giving my 100%, that will be the last day of my cricket. Worst thing about playing cricket for a living? You lose a lot of hair - especially when you are an opening batsman! Like [Virender] Sehwag, I'm losing my hair left, right and centre. Cricket has giving me everything but it is taking away all my hair. Best friend in cricket? Virender Sehwag, Munaf Patel, Amit Mishra and Ishant Sharma. People outside always feel I'm reserved, but when I'm with these guys I'm the only one speaking. I'm very comfortable with each of them and all of them are special to me. Who's the nicest man in cricket? Sehwag. He thinks about the team. The way he gives others confidence, his character, and the way he approaches his cricket and life is an inspiration. If you weren't a cricketer what would you be? The army remains still my first love. When I was growing up I was always passionate about joining the armed forces. But once I started doing well in domestic cricket and everyone started to tell me to focus on my game, that's when I decided to concentrate on my cricket. But given a choice, even now I would like to join the army. What do hotel rooms need to make them more enjoyable? If they can create a homely atmosphere, nothing like it. Which ground has the most hostile crowds? Some of the Australian grounds are nasty. Which ground has the most amusing crowds? I love playing in Mohali. I love the attitude of the local people and I enjoy that very much. Which tour do you most look forward to? Australia. Everything about the place, people, conditions is good, which makes it a hot spot. And you want to challenge yourself there. What drink is the best one to celebrate a victory with? I haven't ever tasted alcohol of any kind. How often do your friends ask you for free tickets to games? Very often. Given an option, every game they would like to ask for at least one ticket. The best sledge you've heard? One comment that made me turn a lot of things around came from Ricky Ponting during the Bangalore Test last year. He said, "You haven't [yet] set the world on fire." That was something I took seriously, and it helped me do well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sachinism Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Which ground has the most hostile crowds? Some of the Australian grounds are nasty. Which tour do you most look forward to? Australia. Everything about the place, people, conditions is good, which makes it a hot spot. And you want to challenge yourself there. hmmmmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veeru_rocks Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Level-headed guy, no wonder he is so successful Sehwag nicest man , no freaking doubt about it. He has this permanent innocence on his face.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketics Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 He himself is pretty nice too. Very down to earth guy.. I hope he just continue the good work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punjabi_khota Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 He has set the world on fire now, hasn't he ? NZ tour was HIS show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketics Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Not on NZ TOUR.. He and Yuvi were our most important batsman in 2020 cup which we won in 07. He was our best batsman in Australian CWB series which we won.. Then best player against Australia in test series which we won by 2-0.. A TRUE CHAMPION Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rajiv Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 I wish I could ahev that 2nd interview of his, they never repeated that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 One of my most favorite cricketer and personality. I'd love to watch a freewheeling 1 hour T.V interview by GG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Btw, it looks like Ponting's loose cannon mouth is turning out to be biggest foe. When he mocked at Zak at the end of the first test last year, it inspired Zak to perform step his level up. Looks like its the same with GG. Keep 'em coming Punter! :giggle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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