Navdeep Saini has showered rich praise on the Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir amid the heavy criticism he has been facing for overlooking match-winners like Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj, and Yashasvi Jaiswal for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025.
Gautam Gambhir, along with the Indian chief selector Ajit Agarkar, has been facing the heat for some of their controversial calls for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, starting on September 9 in the UAE.
Gambhir has been known for his no-nonsense and team-first approach, but is someone who doesn’t care about the criticism when he decides to support the talented players.
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Navdeep Saini hails Gautam Gambhir for supporting talented cricketers
And Navdeep Saini is one of those cricketers. Even the Indian head coach has been criticized for preferring Harshit Rana over the seasoned players, but he still picked the Delhi pacer for the Australia tour and even now for the upcoming continental tournament.
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Amidst the rage among the fans and cricket experts, Navdeep Saini shared how Gambhir changed everything for him. The former Indian opener spotted Saini’s raw talent when he was just a young player, bowling him at the nets. Since then, he has always been there for the bowler.
Gambhir didn’t have any prior connection with Saini, yet he saw something special in the bowler while facing him at the net. Without hesitation, the current Indian head coach gave Saini an opportunity that changed his career. And now Saini paid tribute to Gambhir by saying he is playing cricket only because of the former Delhi captain.
Navdeep Saini was quoted as saying by India Today: “Till today, my cricket career exists because of Gautam Gambhir. He gave me a chance at a time when I never thought I would play. And it is the truth. At that time, I didn’t even know him personally, and he also had no idea who I was. But he believed in me and my talent. He was like, ‘He is a talented boy; he should be given a chance.’ So, he gave me a chance, and that’s why I am here.”
The fast bowler further added, “Even after I made my debut, there were so many other players who weren’t getting chances. But Gambhir supported them too, simply because he believed they had more talent. Many of those players are now playing good cricket. His support has been a turning point not just for me, but for many others as well.”
Navdeep Saini’s career in numbers
Notably, Saini has represented India in 2 Tests, 8 ODIs, and 11 T20Is, taking 4, 6, and 13 wickets. He last played for India in July 2021 during India’s tour of Sri Lanka. He has also not played IPL since the 2023 season but remains active in domestic cricket.
Additionally, the right-arm seamer has 207 wickets in 74 First-Class games, 106 wickets in 72 List-A games, and 73 wickets in 85 T20 matches to his name. He also scored over 900 runs in domestic cricket across the formats.
