India has won two One Day International World Cups so far, one in 1983 and one in 2011. Two important people who are joined by these greatest achievements by India in cricket are Sandeep Patil and Gautam Gambhir. In a recent article written for Quint, Sandeep Patil has shed light on his relationship with Gambhir and how it eventually met its end. He has praised  Gautam for his solidity and has criticised for being too rigid.

Going back to 2004, Indian team coach Sandeep Patil dwells on how he came across the talent of Gambhir in his early days at the National Cricket Academy. He singled out Gautam as the most talented from the India A team that was going to play against England. He was so impressed that Patil asked his Delhi friends about this young talent.

“As a coach, it is always good to have detailed information about the talent, temperament, and skill of the player – and they (Madan Lal, Yashpal Sharma, Kirti Azad) all agreed that Gambhir was perfect India material at that time,” Patil writes.

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Soon enough, Gambhir made into the national team. He had to battle against Stalwarts to make his place into the team. On the back of his strong desire and the quality to commit to the cause, Gambhir settled down as the opener for India alongside Sehwag in all formats.

Patil says “He was one of the guys who used to think cricket all the time. My relations with Gambhir became stronger; we used to discuss his performance whenever we met and sometimes, even on the phone. I would observe a glow on Gambhir’s face as he climbed the stairs of success in his career. Our friendship continued for the next 7-8 years and everything was going well in his career. But suddenly, he was dropped from the Indian team and the main reason behind it was his ever-growing so-called ‘attitude problem’.

I can easily say that it was because of his so-called attitude that he made it to the Indian team, but the very same so-called attitude was also the reason that he got dropped from the team. It was due to his ‘angry young man’ attitude that I nicknamed him the Amitabh Bachchan of Indian cricket.

I firmly believe that every cricketer has some kind of an attitude problem; but if a player shows the same to his own teammates, then it can have a negative impact. Unfortunately, this way I have lost some good friends. But for me, Indian cricket team and Indian cricket’s future was always the priority.

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I would observe a glow on Gambhir’s face as he climbed the stairs of success in his career. Our friendship continued for the next 7-8 years and everything was going well in his career. But suddenly, he was dropped from the Indian team and the main reason behind it was his ever-growing so-called ‘attitude problem’.”

In 2011, India failed miserably in the England tour and faced a humiliating 0-4 loss where no one else except Dravid showed any spine. Gambhir fell hard on his head and injured himself. He soon came back to India but it was speculated that the injury was not so severe.

Exclaiming his surprise at the development, Patil says,”I used to be the Director of the NCA during that period. I was in shock when I saw the reports of the physio and the doctors, who confirmed that his injury was not serious at all, and he could have continued in that series. Only a player knows how serious his injury is; but in my view, he lost the chance to become a legend of Indian cricket.”

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Being the selector at that time, Patil had to take the harsh call and remove Gambhir from the playing XI. He was replaced by other openers like Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan. This severed the ties between him and Gambhir. Here’s how Sandeep Patil recollects the dilemma –

“That was the time Gambhir decided to end our friendship. I understand his feelings and took it in the right spirit. I did not take it personally. He hardly smiled whenever we met and he seems angry with me even today. When it comes to selecting a player for India, friendship or emotions don’t work.”

“Gambhir did not realise that cricket is a cruel game – the one who grabs on to opportunity is the real star, and Gautam missed that chance. Even though Gambhir failed to make a comeback into the Indian side, he excelled for Kolkata Knight Riders, both as a captain and batsman.But in cricket, sometimes attitude matters along with performance.”

I am not saying Gambhir should have tried to flatter us and the team management, but a better attitude would have helped. After being dropped from the Indian team, whenever I saw Gautam Gambhir from a distance, all the glow on the face was missing. I could sense a storm inside him.”

“This year in the IPL, Gambhir’s comeback in the Delhi Daredevils’ franchise was full of hope and positivity, but he failed on the performance front. As his dear friend Yuvraj Singh claimed in one TV advertisement: “Jab tak balla chalta hain, tab tak thath hain”. Gambhir has finally realised that he is no longer the batsman that he was in his heydays.”

“I respect his decision to quit Delhi Daredevils captaincy, but he is the only person who knows why he stepped down in the middle of an IPL campaign. In my view, only an individual can understand what is going is going on inside his head. What will happen in the future, no one knows. But for me, Gautam Gambhir will always remain my favourite cricketer.”