Indian Cricketer of 2008: Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir made his international debut way back in 2000, but it took him seven years to cement a place in India's one-day internationals team, and it wasn't until 2008 that he also became a permanent fixture of the Test team.

Dream year

Gautam Gambhir made his international debut way back in 2000, but it took him seven years to cement a place in India's one-day internationals team, and it wasn't until 2008 that he also became a permanent fixture of the Test team. He was always a prolific scorer on the domestic circuit, but his technique and temperament were always under scrutiny when he donned national colours in the initial phase of his career. However, Gambhir turned things for himself by being one of the stars of India's Twenty20 World Cup winning team in South Africa in 2007.

The success in the T20 World Cup also made Gambhir more confident as he went from strength to strength with each match. Gambhir had become a permanent member of India's ODI team last year, but he had to wait until India's tour of Sri Lanka in July 2008 to establish his place in the Test team. Gambhir and his opening partner Virender Sehwag were the only two Indian batsmen to make an impression in the Test series in Sri Lanka, and there has been no holding the feisty southpaw in the traditional format of the game as well after that tour.

It wouldn't be an understatement to say that Gambhir had a dream year in 2008, for he made more than 1,000 runs in both Tests as well as in ODIs. Gambhir made 1,134 runs including three centuries and six half-centuries in 8 Test matches this year at an average of 70.87 with a highest score of 206. He also had a prolific year in one-day cricket and was the highest run-scorer in the world in the 50-overs format of the game in 2008 scoring 1,119 runs including three centuries and seven half-centuries in 27 matches with a highest score of 113 and average of 46.62.

After the England series, Gambhir jumped 10 places in the ICC Test rankings to be ranked No. 10 -- the highest for an Indian batsman. It is little wonder then that when it was time to decide MSN's Indian Cricketer of 2008, there was no looking beyond Gautam Gambhir, because he has been the most consistent Indian batsman this year.

Source: Akshay Iyer, India Syndicate
Images: AFP and AP