Deepak Hooda's Tranformation Would Not Have Been Possible Without The Backing From Gautam Gammbhir: Vijay Dahiya

Gautam Gambhir has always had a keen sense of talent. Rishabh Pant has always received great accolades from Gambhir, and look where the India wicket-keeper has progressed.

Pant is now the hottest thing in Indian cricket, and his stock is only rising with each passing series. Sanju Samson is another talent Gambhir has always supported, and while he may not have reached the same heights as Pant, Samson has a large fan following.

Navdeep Saini and Suryakumar Yadav were two more names Gambhir admired. However, as the coach of the Lucknow Super Giants, the former India opener was lately praising another homegrown talent who has been around for a long time and that is Deepak Hooda.

After a successful IPL 2022, the all-rounder from Baroda put his career back on track, hitting 451 runs. Hooda continued his great form from the IPL, scoring a century against Ireland before being replaced in the lineup by Virat Kohli.

Deepak Hooda Gets Very Intense During Training: Vijay Dahiya

However, LSG’s assistant coach and former India wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya has acknowledged that Hooda’s turnaround would not have been possible without Gambhir’s support in the IPL.

“Gauti told him, whatever happens, you will play all the games. Deepak was pleasantly surprised because it’s the kind of backing he hadn’t gotten in the IPL,” Dahiya told ESPNCricinfo.

“He’s a keen student of the game. He wants to get better every day. There is a purpose to his training, the hunger is immense. But sometimes, he could become too intense for someone who is keen to do well. He can be hard on himself at times,” added Dahiya.

“The shorter formats can be unforgiving, so we had to speak to him a few times to let go and be less intense. The thing with such a mindset is when things are going well, you aren’t going to find too many issues, but when things don’t come off, that is when it could get tricky. But he’ll learn, he has a tremendous work ethic, and it’s all part of his development as a player.”

Hooda will hope to cash in on the ODI series against the West Indies.

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