Gautam Gambhir: I don't lack motivation, won't call it quits from cricket

With age not on his side the chances of a national comeback look relatively bleak for Gautam Gambhir despite his golden run in domestic cricket but the feisty India opener says he wont give up just yet For Gambhir regarded one of the most complete batsmen in Indian cricket what matters is motivation and the day he loses it he wont shy away from calling it quits Gambhir continues to turn up for Delhi which made it to the final of the premier Ranji Trophy this season after 10 yearsGautam GambhirGambhir might be out of national reckoning but he has been in ominous form this season and that is precisely one of the reasons behind Delhis success Keep scoring runs that is what you can control and you can do You cant control things which are not in your hands The only thing you can control is to get a bat in your handgo out there perform and score as many runs as possible Gambhir told PTI in an interview That is what you are meant to do and that is what I am trying to do This year is no difference from what I used to do last year The motivation is exactly the same The day I dont feel the same I will not hang around At 36 it is unlikely that Gambhir would get a look in for the national team again especially in a fitness freak Virat Kohlis team but that hardly bothers the feisty left hander who was once Indias regular in all three formats of the gameI dont speak to the selectors and I dont need to speak to the selectors Ultimately my job is to score runs and that is what I only focus on Gambhir said Way back in January 2008 it was under then skipper Gambhir Delhi made the final of the Ranji Trophy last time That season Gambhir played a key role with the bat and thisyear too the lefthander was one of the reasons behind Delhis rise In this Ranji season Gambhir has scored 632 runs which includes three centuries and two fifties He is eight in the topscorers chartWe reached the finals so obviously the achievement is great Hopefully we can go one step ahead and win it after 10 years which is going to be great Gambhir saidSo far its been decent Obviously when you get 600 plus runs its good The most important is that you have contributed in the games which are very crucial as wellwhether it was the quarterfinal or the semifinal As a senior player you have to be good in the crunch games and there is still one more game to go he said about his own form Gambhir has always been known to be outspoken and didnt shy away from confronting even Delhi Ranji coach KP Bhaskar over differences in the handling of the team last year Gambhir was handed a suspended fourmatch ban from firstclass cricket for his ugly confrontation with Bhaskar Ultimately its not the coach or the support staff that matters What matters is the performance of the team If the players are performing that is all that matters he saidRefusing to pinpoint any particular player for the success this season the seniormost player in the Ranji team however feels that Delhi has a long way to go to be in the leagues of sides like Mumbai and Karnataka I dont like mentioning about one or two because its unfair to mention one or two names Most of the guys havegrabbed their opportunities and that is why we are where we are I dont believe in talking about individuals in a team sport People have done well people have taken their opportunities and that is a good sign for Delhi cricket he saidThere is still a long way to go Consistency is all that matters Look at someone like Karnataka look at some like Mumbai they have won so many times consistently They are the most consistent teams going around Lets see how we do next year because the followup year is very important and that is what will show where you stand Any team can have one good one season but ultimately it is the consistency that really matters Gambhir signed offCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go