Gautam Gambhir hit back at critics saying that his opening combination with Virender Sehwag is still the best in the country with an average of 53, says a report in The Indian Express.
"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 was quoted saying in the report.
"As an opening pair, you average 50 per inning 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, it’s something a lot of opening pairs have not done in the past and are not doing today," he added.
Gambhir has not hit a Test hundred in the last two years, on that he said, “"It's not about scoring a hundred everytime, it's about contributing when you are opening the batting. It's not only me, a lot of other people have also not scored tons. People only discuss about scoring a hundred, I don't know why. I got 93 in South Africa, 85-odd in Australia...15 or seven more and people would not be discussing my hundred.”
"It's about how much you can contribute when you open the batting. For me, it is all about contributing to the cause of the team," he answered.
Meanwhile, The Times of India reports that two have openers who have not scored a Test hundred in two years is disturbing.
“Gambhir and Sehwag haven't registered a century opening stand since India lost the No. 1 Test ranking last August and have managed only 559 runs at an average of 31.05 since. India became the super power they did riding on solid contributions from this Delhi duo, but both happen to be in woeful touch right now,” says the report.