Former Australian wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist admitted that he feared former Sri Lankan legendary spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh during his international career.
The former Australian cricketer has shared his many international experiences during an interactive session with school kids in New Delhi on Thursday.
When Gilchrist was asked by PTI about which bowlers he feared most, he replied, “It would be a combination of Murali and Bhajji. I could never read the delivery from Murali’s finger movements. He always made me feel like a 10-year-old.”
Gilchrist revealed his mindset up against them and also revealed how he failed on it. Gilchrist said, “Whenever I was in doubt, I promptly swept.”
He added on it, “There was this Test innings where I had gone out with this mindset to sweep. The first ball, I swept and the ball went for four. The second ball, I swept again. This time, it went straight up in the sky and I was caught. Next match, again I swept Murali the first ball and was caught plumb in front of the stumps.”
Gilchrist also revealed that another former Australian batsman Mike Hussey also got nervous in the front of the Sri Lankan legendary spinner. Gilchrist spoke out, “We were always a bad influence for each other in the dressing room. If Mike had to go out and face Murali, I would pull his leg and make him nervous. He would get back to me when my chance came.”
Gilchrist gave an example of it by recalling his memory, “On one such occasion, Mike went out to bat. The first ball, he tried to play a defensive shot, the ball zipped past him. The second ball, Mike was apprehensive again. This time, the ball missed the stumps by an even shorter gap. He was completely clueless but somehow survived till lunch.”
When Gilchrist was asked about his great fitness even after the retirement, the left-handed batsman replied, “I never followed a diet chart even during my playing days. Rather, I followed a seafood diet. That is, whenever I saw seafood, I ate it.”
When the 44-years old former cricketer was asked about how to come out of a bad patch, he answered, “I have never had a bad patch.”
One of the greatest international wicket-keeper was also questioned that why fast bowlers are not given the leadership of teams that often. In reply, Gilchrist shared an incident of the former national team-mate Brett Lee, who was a pacer. Gilchrist said, “Brett used to wear two pairs of socks while bowling. Once, before the start of a match, I saw Brett desperately looking for something. When I asked, he said he couldn’t find one sock of the second pair. So, he wore all three socks on the right leg and went out to bowl. To be honest, I never really thought fast bowlers to be the smartest of the lot.”