Gautam Gambhir Reveals How He Was Banned By ICC Due To Gary Kirsten

Gautam Gambhir rarely shies away from speaking his mind out. The former India opener never beats around the bush and loves to keep things straight. In the past, he never shied away from criticising his own teammates. From slamming MS Dhoni for the infamous rotation policy during the Australia tour in 2011-12 to criticising Virat Kohli’s captaincy, Gambhir loves to speak whatever comes in his minds.

And in a recent interview, he revealed how listening to the advice of former India coach Gary Kirsten saw him getting banned for one Test. Gautam Gambhir was speaking about the infamous elbow incident with Shane Watson in the Delhi Test of 2008. The ex-opener was at the receiving end of verbal assault from the Australians who are known for sledging.

But things went a bit out of control when Gambhir decided to give it back to the tourists. After Shane Watson went overboard with his sledging, Gambhir decided to take matters into his own hands and so while completing a second run he stuck out his left elbow to hit Watson in his midriff. The opener was later charged by match Referee Chris Broad with Level 2 offence for not conducting play “within the spirit of the game as well as within the laws of cricket”. Gambhir was also banned for one Test after that incident.

Listening to Gary Kirsten proves costly:

Gautam Gambhir has now revealed how following an advice given by the then coach Gary Kirsten saw him land in trouble. The former India opener was told by his senior teammates not to accept his mistake during the meeting with the match-referee. But as he was walking to the match referee along with Kirsten, the latter advised him to accept his mistake and he was subsequently banned.

“Everyone told me not to accept my mistake. It was just my first or second meeting with the match referee and everyone including the seniors told me not to accept the mistake. But as I was going to match-referee’s room, Gary told me to accept the mistake,” Gambhir recalled the incident.

He further said that Kirsten told him that the referee would forgive him but he was in for a big surprise. Gambhir went on to follow Kirsten’s advice and was banned by the match-referee straightaway.

Here is the full interview: