Just to blame Viru for Delhi's ouster not fair: Gambhir

Putting his weight behind the embattled Virender Sehwag, senior opener and Delhi captain Gautam Gambhir said it is unfair to solely blame the swashbuckler's poor form for the team's early ouster from the Ranji Trophy.
Sehwag's wretched form with the bat has been a talking point this Ranji season in which he has scored 234 runs at an average of less than 20 in 13 innings.
"Look, had each and everyone of us were performing at the same time, then Delhi would have been in contention for winning the Ranji Trophy," Gambhir told PTI in an interview here.
"While Viru didn't exactly have a great season but then it can happen in sport. That's the beauty of the game. It was Mithun (Manhas) and my responsibility to carry the team forward. Actually what cost us is one bad innings (first innings) against Punjab when we didn't get a big lead. Just to blame Viru for Delhi's failure to qualify for knock-outs is not right," the seasoned opener explained.

Gambhir also defended his decision to blood young Haryana boy Navdeep Saini in Ranji Trophy as he believes that while selecting a squad of XI, a player's domicile is of little significance if the particular cricketer is talented.
"Those who have questioned my decision to play Navdeep should check how many players in the past have played for Delhi not belonging to the state," Gambhir said on the criticism he faced for selecting a non-Delhi boy like Saini.

"I don't wish to comment about what some individuals had to say. For me, it is important whether the player is valuable for the team or not," he added.

Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi had led the chorus against the selection of Navdeep, who got a total of five wickets in two low-scoring Ranji Trophy matches, by signing a protest letter to erstwhile DDCA president Arun Jaitley.
"I don't know what Bishan paaji had said and would rather not get into it. I only know that I saw the kid (Navdeep), who till two years back used to play tennis-ball cricket, bowling well at the nets", he said.