Gautam Gambhir Hits Out At Bishan Singh Bedi, Chetan Chauhan After Navdeep Saini's Spectacular Debut

Gautam Gambhir has hit out at former India cricketers Bishan Singh Bedi and Chetan Chauhan following debutant Navdeep Saini's starring role in India's four-wicket win over the West Indies in the first T20I of the three-match series on Saturday. According to a report in IANS, Bishan Singh Bedi and Chetan Chauhan -- Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) members -- had objected to Gambhir's "call to bring in Saini in the Delhi Ranji team". The report also claimed that despite Bedi and Chauhan's opposition towards Saini, Gambhir continued to back the young fast bowler.

Navdeep Saini made an instant impact on his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut, returning with figures of three for 17 as the West Indies were restricted to 95 for nine in 20 overs.

"Kudos Navdeep Saini on ur India debut. U already have 2 wkts even before u have bowled -- @BishanBedi & @ChetanChauhanCr. Their middle stumps are gone seeing debut of a player whose cricketing obituary they wrote even before he stepped on the field, shame!!!," Gambhir tweeted on Saturday.

Kudos Navdeep Saini on ur India debut. U already have 2 wkts even before u have bowled- @BishanBedi & @ChetanChauhanCr. Their middle stumps are gone seeing debut of a player whose cricketing obituary they wrote even before he stepped on the field, shame!!! @BCCI pic.twitter.com/skD77GYjk9

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) August 3, 2019

India didn't have it all their way in the chase, huffing and puffing their way to the 96-run target with 16 balls to spare. However, despite the underwhelming performance with the bat, captain Virat Kohli was a content man, hailing Navdeep Saini as "a rarity with his raw pace".

Having already enjoyed success with the India 'A' team currently on tour of the Caribbean, Navdeep Saini achieved the rarity of a maiden in that final over but it was his earlier double-strike which gave the 26-year-old fast bowler the sort of dream start he would have wished for after skipper Virat Kohli chose to bowl first on winning the toss.

"Navdeep is a rarity with his raw pace," said Kohli in appreciation of his debutant's impressive effort.

"We can only hope he kicks on from there. It wasn't the best pitch because of all the weather around. Everyone did a great job to get the match underway on time."

(With IANS inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team West Indies Cricket Team Gautam Gambhir Navdeep Saini Bishansingh Giansingh Bedi Chetandra Pratapsingh Navarata Chauhan West Indies vs India 2019 West Indies vs India, 1st T20I Cricket