Gautam Gambhir is proving to be one of the new assets to the Indian team.

He has smashed the bowlers Down Under and is a contender for Man of the Series. Is he the real deal or will he prove to be another Mohammad Kaif or Suresh Raina?

In my view he is on the right path. He looks like a batsman with great character and temperament suited to international cricket. His recent century against Australia only strengthened my belief that he might be the future Sachin Tendulkar of the Indian team.

'Andre Nel provoked him, Gambhir retaliated and later smashed the bowler all over the park'


Critics accuse the lad from Delhi of playing ODIs in Twenty20 style. Yes, this is a drawback in his batting, but as he showed in the match against the Aussies, once he gets in he doesn't make a lot of mistakes and he has a wide repertoire of shots.

His hook shot off Brett Lee was one of the best and not many batsmen can hook the Aussie paceman. It was timing at its best. He has also proved to be a good player of Muttiah Muralitharan.

His timing of the white leather has been very sweet and although his previous highest scores were against the likes of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Scotland and Ireland, his recent century at Sydney gives evidence that he is capable of scoring against the very best.

His fielding is also very good. He has shown he can save around 10 runs an innings. And he runs well between the wickets, all good assets for the future. He also has the ability to hang around when wickets are falling at the other end.

The way he handled his innings in the Twenty20 final against Pakistan is testament to his character, as were his two centuries in the Ranji trophy semi-finals and finals. These were second innings centuries, a feat difficult to pull off in Indian conditions.

Gambhir is proving to be a new man for the big occasions. The evidence came during South Africa's tour of India. Andre Nel provoked him, Gambhir retaliated and later smashed the bowler all over the park.

His form is even more impressive when you consider he was overlooked for India's disastrous World Cup campaign.

He holds the unique record of becoming only the fourth Indian batsman to score a double century in a tour game at home; the previous three being Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Tendulkar. Will he follow the path of these past legends?