I Owe My Life And Success To Gautam Gambhir: Navdeep Saini

During the 2013/14 season,  there were times when Gautam Gambhir had threatened to skip Ranji Trophy game had Navdeep Saini not been included in the side.

A pacer,  who came from the village of veteran Sumti Narwal, had not played any Delhi league that time, which was the major reason behind selectors opposing his selection but finally,  Gambhir had his say and Saini was included in Delhi Ranji team.

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During the season,  Delhi still had many options to choose from but Saini was given the preference.  Within three years of making his first-class debut,  the right arm pacer justified his selection when he made it to the India A side to face Australia. He also bagged an IPL contract the same year and was recently in contention to be selected for the South Africa Test series but Jasprit Bumrah got the preference.

Still,  Saini continues to attract attention of selectors and with his superb spell of 7/80 in the semifinal of Ranji trophy,  he has jumped ahead of other pacers in contention. The 25-year-old pacer was thankful to mentor Gautam Gambhir whom he owes his life,  as per Navdeep,

“I owe this life and my success to Gautam Gambhir. I was a nobody and Gautam bhaiyaa did everything for me,” he said after the end of the Ranji Trophy semifinal.

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During the last season,  Saini was on verge of being dropped and then again,  Gambhir stepped in so as to include him as Saini had played for India A then. The continues faith showed by Gambhir paid him fruits when Saini was one of the four bowlers chosen to fly to South Africa as a net bowler but he decided to withdraw due to Ranji Trophy commitments,

“I was happy that I would go to South Africa but I called up Gautam bhaiyya. He said Delhi needs you now for the semi-final and if you do well, you will be automatically in that Indian dressing room. I didn’t think twice,” he added.

With Indian team all set to play a major season away from home, Saini,  for now, has put his name forward and sooner or later,  he might make it to the national side as well.

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