Gambhir slams critics, defends his partnership with Sehwag

Gautam Gambhir has defended his partnership with Virender Sehwag even as the duo are struggling to match their high standards in the classical format. India have struggled in Test cricket since the end of the 2011 World Cup as they have plummeted to ignominious depths. Their usually prolific openers have failed to score big runs and that has affected them. Gambhir may have continued to do well in limited overs, but his graph in Tests is dipping – something that is very worrying for Indian fans. Sehwag too hasn’t produced a big score for quite some time.

 

"We still average 53 as an opening pair, which I think is one of the best when it comes to opening the batting in world cricket. There are not many opening pairs who have played for such a long time and have an average of 53 per innings. And if 53 is not good enough, I don't know what is good enough," Gambhir told PTI in an exclusive interview.

 

"As an opening pair, you average 50 per innings and if you are giving 50 runs start in every innings, you can't do more and if people talk about not contributing, I will suggest them to look at the stats. Average of 53 is tremendous, its something a lot of opening pairs have not done in the past and are not doing today," he added.