Indian opener Gautam Gambhir today celebrates his 36th birthday. The Delhi star was born on this day in 1981 to a businessman father and a housewife mother. However, he grew up with his grandparents who adopted him right after meeting their newborn grandchild for the time. This happened just 18 days after his birth.
As his last name – Gambhir – describes, cricketing start is known for his intense poker face and gritty attitude on the field. He began his cricketing journey at the age of 10 under the tutelage of Sanjay Bhardwaj and Raju Tandon.
Later, he made his first-class debut in the 1999/00 season as an18-year-old and quickly cemented his reputation as one of the most talented youngsters in the country. Three years later, he made his international debut.
Gambhir is unarguably one of the most successful openers India has ever had across all formats. Together with Sehwag, he formed an opening combination that was far superior to most of the other teams during the period between 2008 till 2011.
He raked in over 10000 international runs to his credit for his 56 Tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20Is before his international career began. But, his worth as a cricketer did not suffer a bit as he led his IPL side Kolkata Knight Rider to two title wins.
A nationalist and humanitarian by heart, Gambhir never minces his words while speaking on issues related to national pride. To show his commitment, he has founded GG foundation through which he aims to provide support to the families of soldiers.
Key role in 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 50 over World Cup win
Gambhir was one of the key catalysts in the success which India tasted in the two major events. In the 2007 T20 World Cup, Gambhir was one of the top performers with the bat. Same was the scenario four years later when India hosted the World Cup on its soil and eventually ended their 28 years dry run and claim the coveted honours. His innings in crucial knockout games acted as the stepping stone both of India’s historic victories.
Twitter Reacts!
Well-wishers have flooded Gambhir with birthday wishes. The cricketer was grateful to all the love he was receiving and acknowledged the same in one of his tweets today morning.
He wrote: Humbled by all d kind words n lavish praises. Hope this knock helps Delhi start on a winning note.
Here’s how friends and fans made the day special for him…
He's one of 12 batsmen to score over 10,000 international runs for India – Happy 36th Birthday to @GautamGambhir! pic.twitter.com/CpplpPuLlc
— ICC (@ICC) October 14, 2017
@GautamGambhir vey very happy birthday gauti bhai much like to u work for indian soldiers family.great patriotic think.apke jajbe ko salute.
— Manish Kumar Trivedi (@ManishK25764725) October 14, 2017
So here s small token of love from my side. Hope u ll like dis Virtual gift idol. @GautamGambhir Part-1 pic.twitter.com/udq45k1Oo7
— LSG PBKS KKR (@AhluwaliaAmrit) October 14, 2017
https://twitter.com/munna_singh302/status/919076517073825792
https://twitter.com/asirdur/status/919075929783021573
World Cup hero Happy Birthday Gautam Bhai..
Yaad Nahi To Jake 2007 Aur 2011 final match dekhlo..!!
Gautam Gambhir pic.twitter.com/5Ri5zXvhtF— BeingSantuDhallu (@DhalluSantosh) October 14, 2017
https://twitter.com/modh_jainil/status/919075727017787398
Wishing a fantastic birthday to @GautamGambhir! Enjoy your day to the fullest. God bless! pic.twitter.com/FOidm1qHhK
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 14, 2017
Happy Birthday , u leave in your fans hearts❤️ #GautamGambhir pic.twitter.com/tr06TrKdKh
— Amit Kumar (@AmitCurious) October 13, 2017
'My biggest heroes are the jawans who protect our nation' said @GautamGambhir in #AapKiAdalat.Happy Birthday to the cricketing hero. pic.twitter.com/oKrOPQS9Pf
— Rajat Sharma (@RajatSharmaLive) October 14, 2017
On behalf of all @KKRiders, happy B’day @GautamGambhir. Here’s to another terrific year!
— Venky Mysore (@VenkyMysore) October 14, 2017
Wishing a very happy birthday to one of ?? Best opening batsman @GautamGambhir .
Best wishes for the upcoming year.— Rajeev Shukla (@ShuklaRajiv) October 14, 2017
India opening batsman, Rohit Sharma also shared a special message for Gautam Gambhir.
To one of the World Cup heroes, played an absolute game changing knock in both World Cup finals. Many many happy returns of the day @GautamGambhir
— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) October 14, 2017