Watch: Gautam Gambhir’s Befitting Reply After Journalists Questions His Association With IPL Despite Being An MP
Jun 4, 2022 at 2:54 PM
Gautam Gambhir’s association with cricket has been questioned ever since he switched to politics in 2019. Just before the elections in 2019, the former India batsman had joined BJP and had gone on to win the East Delhi seat.
Since then, he has been constantly targeted for not parting ways with cricket. Even after becoming a Member of Parliament, he worked as an IPL analyst as well as commentator for Star Sports.
Recently, he donned the hat of mentor for Lucknow Super Giants who were making their debut in the competition. And his association with the game was once again questioned during a media interaction.
Gautam Gambhir speaks on his association with IPL:
The legendary cricketer was interacting with the media over BJP’s 8 years in power. During the same interaction, he was asked about his association with IPL franchises and commentary roles. Known for giving straightforward answers, Gambhir did not beat around the bush as he revealed the reason behind his association with the IPL.
The World Cup-winning former cricketer explained that he needs to take up those jobs in order to continue the welfare work he is doing for the society. In 2020, he had set up a community kitchen in Gandhi Nagar called ‘Jan Rasoi’ that offers a meal for Rs. 1.
“Why I commentate in IPL or work in it is because I spend INR 25 lakh every month to feed 5000 people. This translates to roughly 2.75 crore per year. I’ve also spent INR 25 lakh to build a library,” said Gambhir.
“I spend all of this money from my own pocket and not from the MPLAD fund. The MPLAD fund doesn’t run my kitchen or other things that I do. I don’t have a tree in my house from where I can pluck money either.
“Only because I work, am I able to feed those 5000 people or establish that library. I have no shame in saying that I do commentary and work in the IPL. All of this that I do has an ultimate goal,” he added.
सीधा सवाल…सीधा जवाब 👌 @GautamGambhir “हो सके इसे छाप देना 😊 pic.twitter.com/AKrR2SbTzl
— Gaurav Arora (@gauravbir786) June 3, 2022