'I had finished that game,' Former India opener Gautam Gambhir on only REGRET of playing career

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir says his only regret from his playing career is not being able to finish 2011 ODI World Cup final. Gambhir, who is widely expected to become next India men's head coach, made the comments at a recent 'Rise To Leadership' seminar.

"I wish I had finished that game. It was my job to finish the game, rather than leaving someone to finish the game. If I had to turn back the clock, I would go back there and score the last run, irrespective of how many runs I scored," Gambhir said.

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India had lost early wickets in the final against Sri Lanka but Gambhir's 97-run innings kept India afloat before erstwhile skipper MS Dhoni finished it with an iconic six.

As of today, the game is hugely remembered for Dhoni's six which won India the 50-over World Cup for the first time since 1983.

The former India opener, however, said that he's always thought about performing for the fans and nothing else.

"I have always thought about performing for the fans, and that has been my thought since the last year of my training career. In the middle, I got this honour of captaining India for six games. I tried doing it to the best of my ability," he said.

"Otherwise, I have no regrets whatsoever because my job was not to captain the series. My job was to make my country win, and whichever team I play for, make that team win," Gambhir added.

Most recently, Gambhir took Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third title in 2024 season as the mentor of the team. It is to be noted that KKR's previous two IPL title had also come under Gambhir's captaincy.

The Delhi-based player has already appeared for an interview before the BCCI for the head coach job and is expected to take the reins after Rahul Dravid's tenure ends after the ongoing T20 World Cup.