Can’t Compare Anyone In India At The Moment With Ben Stokes: Gautam Gambhir
Published - 26 Jul 2020, 05:13 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:32 AM
England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been on a red-hot streak across formats since the last 12 months. Ben Stokes was central to England’s World Cup success and their face-saving Ashes campaign after that. And looking at his recent game-changing performances, former Indian opening batsman Gautam Gambhir has conceded that Stokes stands apart from the rest of the players in the world.
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Ben Stokes’ recent Test performances across all facets have seen him climb to the top of the rankings for all-rounders. He toppled the West Indian captain Jason Holder to become the number one last week following their series-levelling victory in Manchester in the second Test against the West Indies. The southpaw scored 254 runs in two innings in the match while also bagging a couple of wickets as England defied weather conditions to seal triumph.
In the Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected, Gautam Gambhir stated that one could not compare Stokes with anyone in India and that he is miles above the rest. Gambhir cited the 29-year old outstanding run of form in all the formats and underlined that no player in the world let alone India comes close to Stokes’ calibre and that every team needs a player like him in their line-up.
“You can’t compare anyone in India at the moment with Ben Stokes. Absolutely not, because Ben Stokes is in his own league. What he has done in Test cricket, what he has done in one-day cricket, what he has done in T20 cricket, I don’t think so there’s anyone, let alone in India, there isn’t anyone who’s even close to him in world cricket at the moment. And that is the kind of impact player you need in every line-up,” the 38-year old stated.
“Ben Stokes is a leader in his own capacity” : Gautam Gambhir
The cricketer-turned-politician went on to say that the New Zealand-born is someone who leads the way in whatever he does. He mentioned that one does not need the position of the captain and England’s Test vice-captain is a role-model for plenty of youngsters as he leads through his sensational performances while not being a skipper.
“It would be a dream for every captain to have someone like Ben Stokes – whether he’s batting, whether he’s bowling, whether he’s fielding – and he’s a leader in his own capacity. You don’t have to be a leader to be a leader, you don’t need to be called a captain to be a captain. You can be a leader by your own performances as well. So, I think there are a lot of guys would be actually looking to be like Ben Stokes, but unfortunately, there’s no one at the moment in world cricket,” he added.
