Age Should Not be Considered for ODI Comeback of Gautam Gambhir - Amol Muzumdar

Former Mumbai batting stalwart Amol Muzumdar feels age shouldn’t be a factor for the in-form opener Gautam Gambhir to make ODI comeback. Gautam Gambhir had scored 490 runs from eight innings thus far with two hundred and a fifty, at a strike rate of 117.78 in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. The southpaw batsman had scored a fine 104 in the quarterfinal clash against Haryana.

In fact, he scored half of his 104 runs against the spinners like Amit Mishra, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Jayant Yadav in the last game against Haryana. Therefore, Gautam Gambhir again proved that he could score runs against the spinners as well as seamers. Consequently, he is scoring runs on a regular basis in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Gautam Gambhir is making a statement with his bat.

“If I take my own career as an example, I am of the firm view that age is but a number. For someone to make an entry or comeback to international cricket, there are a number of boxes to be ticked and anyone, who ticks most of those boxes, should be under consideration,” said Amol Muzumdar as per Mid-Day.

Moreover, Amol Muzumdar also admits that age is just a number and a player should stay fit to play an international match. Muzumdar also feels that Gautam Gambhir is comfortable opening an innings. In fact, the Delhi left-hander has always played as an opener or played at number three.

“The boxes include fitness and fielding. But what about the difference between batting at No. 4 or lower for someone who has almost always opened the innings or at the latest came in at No. 3?” he added.

Muzumdar also thinks that batting in the top order is the easiest job. The batsman got enough space to push the balls and score runs. In addition to that, he also feels that batting at number four or lower is something difficult where the batsman has to start an innings on a fresh note.

“That’s the tricky part. When you open, you invariably have at least two fielders in the slips, so there are some open spaces to push the ball into for runs. Also, the hard new ball helps you get runs. But at No. 4 or lower, the ball is softer, the field is spread and you have to start afresh,” Amol Muzumdar said.

Gautam Gambhir and Co. will play the semi-final against Jharkhand on October 18 (Thursday).