Gautam Gambhir is a former Indian cricketer and a current politician. He is widely regarded as one of the best opening batsmen in Indian cricket history. Gambhir made his debut for the Indian cricket team in 2003 and played all three formats of the game. He played for the Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL). After retiring from cricket, Gambhir joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) in 2019.
Gambhir was born on October 14, 1981, in New Delhi, India, to Deepak Gambhir and Seema Gambhir. His grandfather originally hailed from Multan, which is now in Pakistan. After Gambhir was born, he was adopted by his maternal grandparents, who raised him. He started playing cricket at the age of ten and received his schooling from Modern School, New Delhi. He graduated from Hindu College, University of Delhi, and was coached by Sanjay Bharadwaj of Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy in Delhi and Raju Tandon.
Gambhir made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Bangladesh in 2003 and played his first Test match the following year against Australia. He was an integral part of the Indian cricket team that won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 and the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. Gambhir was the top scorer for India in the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka, scoring 97 runs. He is the only Indian cricketer to have scored more than 300 runs in four consecutive Test series. He is also the only Indian and one of four international cricketers to have scored hundreds in five consecutive Test matches. Gambhir played for the Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He captained Kolkata Knight Riders to their first IPL title in 2012 and their second title in 2014.
Gambhir has received numerous awards and honours for his cricketing achievements. He was conferred with the Arjuna Award, India’s second-highest sporting award, in 2008. He was also the number one ranked batsman in ICC Test rankings in 2009 and received the ICC Test Player of the Year award the same year. Gambhir was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, in 2019. As of April 2018, he is the sixth-highest run-scorer for India in Twenty20 Internationals.
In 2019, Gambhir joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and contested the Lok Sabha elections from the East Delhi constituency. He won the election and became an MP. Gambhir has been vocal about his views on various issues such as national security, education, and sports. He has also been involved in various social causes such as supporting the education of underprivileged children and helping the families of Indian soldiers who lost their lives in the line of duty.
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