I am not enjoying batting: Gauti

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I am not enjoying batting: Gauti Gautam Gambhir is earning nicknames faster than he is scoring runs and tons. But quite amazingly he says he is not enjoying batting anymore. In a freewheeling interview with Dinesh Chopra, he explains how he puts too much pressure on himself The IPL begins for you tomorrow. How have the preparations gone? Our preparations have been on track. There is anticipation in the group as we have had a decent track record in the previous two editions of the league. Hopefully, we can go past the semifinal this time around. Is there a concern within the group that the team hasn’t gone beyond the semifinals so far? Well, as a professional you do not need anyone else to say that you are not going beyond the semifinal stage. The entire squad is mindful of that but it has been just two tournaments and last time Adam Gilchrist just took the game away from us with some outstanding batting. Overall if you look at it, it is not a bad record. The fact that you start by playing away from home can help your team to focus better. Do you agree that it can knock off any complacency? I think playing in Mohali will be advantageous but for a different reason. It is a fast wicket where the ball comes on to the bat and strokeplayers in our team like that. Also, the likes of Ashish Nehra and Dirk Nannes can take advantage of the pace in the wicket. You talk about pitches but at times it seems that the surface is of no consequence in this format. Oh no. On the contrary they matter a lot. Look at it this way, just because it is a shorter format people tend to go slam-bang thinking they need a big score. But if you read the pitch well, then you know that it is not about getting 170-180 runs but just enough according to the conditions. You have David Warner, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Virender Sehwag and yourself in your lineup. Who will open the innings? That’s something that really doesn’t bother me because the guys are pretty flexible about that. Myself, Sehwag and Dilshan have all batted at number three in the past and can do the same again. None of us are stuck up with the opening slot and we will keep it flexible depending upon opposition, conditions and match situation. I am sure people are looking forward to see Warner bat with you or Sehwag at some stage... Moving on you have someone like a Yuvraj Singh in the opposition. What do you make of him? Oh, the most destructive batsman in the world in this format, without a doubt. I mean Yuvraj can change the game in a matter of an over. He showed that on more than one occasion during the T20 World Cup in 2007, whether it was the game against England or Australia. So, he is the man to watch out for. We’d be doing everything to stop him. If you had a chance what would you like to take from his batting? The ability to hit 6 sixes, I wish I had that. Won’t you want to take his acting skills? His style... (Laughs) He is a rock star, a great guy. I think if anyone should be looking at Bollywood after cricket, it’s him. I’d want to take some tips from him but then Yuvi doesn’t share certain things, does he (laughs)? So, have you worked out a plan for Yuvraj yet? (Laughs) We will ask Nannes to dish out some chin music to him, bowl 4-5 bouncers in an over at 156 kmph even if that means giving away no-balls... na, just kidding. We have plans for him and we will definitely try and stop him from cutting loose. Lots of mutual respect there, I believe Yuvraj calls you with a certain name. What is that? No, I won’t share that. It’s too big a name for me. I have a vague idea, I think he has compared your recent run-scoring with a certain Sir Don Bradman. It feels good when you earn respect of your colleagues. Honestly speaking when you get their respect and affection then it really doesn’t matter what others say about your game. Isn’t that what you play for? I mean all this adulation coming from the ones who know the game and pressure associated with it, it does feel special. But this name Sir Don Bradman is too big for me, I don’t think I deserve that. Another former Austrlian captain, Richie Benaud once said: Captaincy is about 90% luck and 10% skill. Do you agree? As a captain, you can’t really survive on luck, you need a good team. Look at our Test side, we have become No 1 because we are a good team. There is a lot of planning, skill, sacrifice, talent and determination that has gone into this success and yes a bit of luck as well. But not 90 %. I also feel a captain is as good as his team. You can’t win matches on captaincy. I feel MS Dhoni is lucky that he is leading this side. So, what’s your percentage ratio? I think it is 90 % talent and skill and 10 % luck. You can’t be relying on luck too much. You just finished nets, looking for rhythm in batting. Is there any sort of nets which teaches you captaincy? Well, I don’t think so. You can’t learn to lead a team, you get better as you keep doing it. One should be creative and innovative. Most importantly, you should be able to understand your teammates and give them a comfortable atmosphere. They should feel secure, they should be able to express themselves on the field with the knowledge that their captain is firmly behind them. Is this sense of insecurity coming from personal experience? Absolutely. I never felt secure during the initial part of my career but now as a skipper of Delhi Daredevils I try to do everything possible so that youngsters like Pradeep Sangwan or Yo Mahesh get an atmosphere where they play without fear of getting dropped. What is that one trait in your personality which holds you in good stead as a captain? The fact that I think about others. Do you see yourself leading India at some stage? Everyone dreams about that but then at the moment MS Dhoni is doing a fine job and the team is doing well under him. You know there are times when from the outside you are holding yourself back. You are not really enjoying your batting, it is not free flowing. There is something personal that I’d like to share. Recently, I was about to go into bat against South Africa in the Kolkata Test match when coach Gary Kirsten came to me and said, ‘Now, go out and enjoy your game.’ I told Gary that this is something that I’m not able to do. He told me you are exactly like me. I too never enjoyed my batting but kept going for the team. People like Gary and myself take too much pressure on ourselves and just stop enjoying the task at hand. But it’s bizarre that after scoring all those runs in last two years, finishing as the ICC Test player of the year, five hundreds in a row, you are saying that you are not enjoying the game. It is unbelievable. I know to the outside world it may seem bizarre but that’s a fact. I don’t enjoy batting because I take too much pressure on myself. With that in mind I do not play those flowing strokes. I mean I have not played a single extra-cover drive in the last 3 Test series! But why? You can play your shots... I don’t know what it is, maybe I just want to score every single run, make up for all the time lost. Maybe I just want to keep proving all my critics wrong and for that I keep analyzing my game so that it gets better. I really have no idea why I am like this. I sulk if I have just 2 or 3 bad innings, I think I am just too hard on myself. And I checked this with the team’s mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton if it is normal and he just said that I am different. For someone so sensitive, you must be a happy man with praises showered on you by Kirsten. I believe he too has given you a name. Ya. Earlier, Gary use to call me the Banker of the team now he calls me the Rock. His explanation is that we have The Wall in Rahul Dravid and we have The Master in Sachin Tendulkar and now the team needed a Rock. He said that he doesn’t want me to be the second wall and that is why this name. Honestly speaking, it is a little embarrassing to have names like these, to me the biggest accolade is to play for the country, that is it. Now, you should be married and looking forward to your wife’s company. Isn’t it? Yes, I want to settle down now, sometimes it gets really lonely. So, what’s the status there. Are you leaving the balls outside the off stump... ready to step out of the crease? (Smiles) Leaving the balls outside off. But whats the kind of girl you want? I’d marry someone who can take my tantrums, someone who can take my mood swings. As I said I can sulk for long hours if I don’t do well in cricket so she has to understand that and help me recover from that. Other than that my expectations are quite normal. During a chat room discussion on you on the internet recently, one of your female fans said that, Gautam has a wife and a girlfriend. How do you react to such things? (Laughs out loud) Oh no, no... I mean where did this come from. I am happily single but then isn’t that a married man’s wish!! What’s the craziest rumour you ever heard about yourself? That I am hot. Do I look hot? Perhaps the only place I look hot is when I am in the middle. I’d prefer if girls called me cute.

Source: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2010/03/13&PageLabel=29&EntityId=Ar02900&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T

[Rajan]

shows how committed this guy is. but atleast once in a while he should play his strokes,when the team is in safe positions, say for instance against BD attack, he could have taken liberties.