'You haven't set the world on fire': Gambhir reveals how Australia legend's sledging motivated him to become Man of the Series in Border-Gavaskar Trophy
The incident happened during the 2008 BGT.
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir, who is touted as the next coach of the India team, recently shared an interesting incident from his illustrious cricketing career.
Gambhir revealed how a taunt by an Australian legend had motivated him and got the best out of him.
In a recent interview with Forbes India, Gambhir was quizzed on the funniest sledge he has faced.
Gambhir revealed, "The funniest sledge was when I was playing my first Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Bangalore. Ricky Pointing said something when I was batting. He was at a silly point, and he said, ‘You haven’t set the world on fire' or something like that. I had finished the series as the highest run-scorer."
The incident had happened during the 2008 Border Gavaskar Trophy. Although Gambhir was gradually making his mark as India's Test opener, this was his first full series against Australia after he had played only one Test match in 2004.
Gautam Gambhir shared "Ricky Ponting once sledged me, saying something like- You haven't set the world on fire. But I ended up becoming the Man of the Series in that BGT” pic.twitter.com/GsEcHUpUWv
— Vipin Tiwari (@Vipintiwari952_) June 22, 2024
Entering the series with just one century to his name, Gambhir was a target for Ponting. Nevertheless, Gambhir answered back emphatically by becoming the highest run-scorer of the series, amassing 463 runs at an average exceeding 77, even though he participated in only three of the four matches.
Gambhir soon to be announced as India coach
Gambhir is now all set to take over his next big assignment of coaching the India team. Reports have also confirmed that the former India star has already given his interview for the role with the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) and it's only a matter of time before he is announced as the successor of current coach Rahul Dravid.
Speaking of India, they are looking in sublime form in the T20 World Cup 2024, having maintained an unbeaten streak so far. The Men in Blue will next take on Bangladesh in their second games of the Super 8s stage tonight (June 22).
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