Was Gambhir An ‘Insecure And Negative' Cricketer?

Gambhir, who played 58 Tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20Is for India, was a very successful opener for a long period...

- Bhavesh Bhimani

Former mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton has made some startling points in his newly-released book about ex-Indian opener Gautam Gambhir.

“I did some of my best and least effective mental conditioning work with Gautam Gambhir, the International Test Cricketer of the Year in 2009. I worked with him up until that time, but I had little to do with him being named the world’s best cricketer,” Upton, who worked with the Indian team with coach Gary Kirsten for a brief period, has written in his book ‘The Barefoot Coach’.

Upton then further stated that Gambhir was “mentally the most insecure person in the Indian team during his tenure with them and explained why he felt so.

“He was so riddled with insecurities, doubts, and vulnerabilities. He was one of the most negative people I have ever worked with. I tried everything I knew to at least try to get him to be a bit more positive, become more optimistic, and to at least get some perspective… We must have had fifteen sessions on the bus in one year, but I just couldn’t help Gautam shift.”