Yes I made enemies but I slept in peace: Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir has always been a non-conformist but he has had no regrets even if it meant an "unfulfilled career", "lot of enemies" because he could "sleep peacefully at night".

One of the most gutsy cricketers that the country has ever produced, Gambhir feels that the Indian society in general does not warm up to people who are forthright in their views.

"It's not only about cricketing system, in general our society doesn't like to be shown the mirror. We like to maintain the status quo and not look at the reality. I get suffocated by all this," Gambhir, who is set to retire from competitive cricket after Sunday told PTI in an exclusive interview.

Whether it's selectors or DDCA administration, Gambhir stood for whatever he felt right especially if those were cricketing issues.

"I can't tolerate wrong things and artificiality. A lot of people around me say that I could have been diplomatic but that is simply not me. Yes, I made many enemies but I slept in peace," said Gambhir on the penultimate day of his competitive career.

He had an ugly altercation with KP Bhaskar in 2017 when he alleged that the former coach was trying to destroy career of junior players, had arguments with Chetan Chauhan over a rookie bowler called Navdeep Saini, who he thought was cut out for higher level.

Not to forget when he was mad at a state selector, who wanted to get a below par club cricketer in the Delhi Ranji side after the team had won three straight Ranji games.

Did he never get scared that taking on establishment at every step could have affected his career?
"It is too early to say. I want to bring about a change but at what platform it is still undecided. Lets see what happens."
"Well, there is never a right time or a wrong time for decisions such as retirement. I have been thinking about it for sometime but enthusiasm and eagerness to win got the better of retirement thoughts."