Gautam Gambhir Opens Up on Being ‘Serious’: ‘People Don’t Come to See Me Smile, They Come to See Me Win’ – News18

Gautam Gambhir is known for his stoic countenance and has been often criticised for ‘not smiling’. The former 2011 World Cup-winning star, in a chat with Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel, said that he does not want to please everyone.

“I don’t see I cannot please everyone in this country and I don’t even intend to please everyone. I don’t even want everyone to know me the kind of person I am. For me people who matter to me, they should know the kind of person I am the kind of thoughts I have, what kind of a human being whether I’m emotional, whether sometimes I’m restless, as well, but that’s the kind of person I am. And so, I have never ever thought about what people are talking about me. Or that misconception or perception. It’s up to them. They can talk whatever they want to unless you don’t know me, you should not. If I don’t know someone, I’d never make a perception about someone so they have all the right to do whatever they want,” Gambhir told Ashwin on his YouTube chat show ‘Kutti Stories with Ash’.

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Ashwin countered saying if that can be called ‘the white line syndrome’, as one of his Tamil Nadu senior had explained to him.

The off-spinner explained that he was told that whenever one crosses the boundary ropes to onto the field of play, they should give it their all.

Gambhir clarified that there is nothing wrong with that attitude, adding that fans don’t come to watch him smile but rather win on the cricket field.

“Sometimes when people talk about – he doesn’t smile. He doesn’t love. He’s always intense. He’s always grumpy. He’s always walking on the edge. He’s old. He always has his game face on. People don’t come to watch me smile. Unfortunately, people come to watch me win. That’s the kind of profession we guys are in. I can’t help it,” Gambhir said.

“I’m not an entertainment. I’m not a Bollywood actor. Or I’m not a corporate. I’m a cricket arm into performing art. My job is that I want to come back in a willing dressing room. Unfortunately, unfortunately, a winning dressing room is a happy dressing room is a winning dressing. And I have all the rights to fight for myself or my teammates, and do everything possible within the spirit of the game, to try and beat the opposition. And that is all I have learned how to do and I will do it till the last probably till the last day of my life if I’m involved with cricket, and there is nothing I don’t understand when people say that, you know, he’s too hard.”

“He plays a certain way. Yes, I play a certain way because it helps me perform to the best of my ability. I’m not breaking any rules. I want to be as aggressive as I can be. And what’s wrong in that That’s My nature. That’s my characteristic because for me winning, it’s an obsession, and I’m actually obsessed with winning. What’s wrong in that? I’m actually obsessed with winning that that’s the problem I have,” Gambhir added.