WC Winner Gambhir May Be BJP Candidate From New Delhi: Reports

The 37-year-old former India opener retired from all forms of cricket in December 2018.

2011 World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in December through a post on social media.

(Photo Courtesy: Screen Grab/Facebook)

Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir is reportedly in the running to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as a BJP candidate from New Delhi.

According to NDTV, the 37-year-old may contest from the prestigious New Delhi constituency, currently held by the party’s Meenakshi Lekhi, in the national election in April-May.

Gambhir, who retired from all forms of cricket in December and was recently awarded the Padma Shri, has remained non-committal whenever asked about joining politics.

“Honestly, I haven’t even thought about it,” Gambhir had told The Quint soon after announcing his retirement.

The Rajinder Nagar resident was a high-profile campaigner for Union Minister Arun Jaitley when he contested from Amritsar in the 2014 general elections, in which Jaitley lost to present Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh of Congress.

The former India opener – a winner of two world titles, the 2007 World T20 and the 2011 World Cup – is now a regular presence on TV screens as a commentator after calling time on his two-decade long professional cricket career.

Gambhir has often offered strong comments on the political landscape on his social media handles, and has positioned himself as a champion of rights issues in the country. In recent weeks, he pledged to provide educational support to the children of the martyrs from the Pulwama terror attack in February.

In his interview with The Quint in December, Gambhir had implored the public to not vote for him on the basis of his achievements on the cricket field.

“If ever there is a situation in life that I get into that space, don’t vote for Gautam Gambhir the cricketer. Don’t vote for Gautam Gambhir the human either. Vote for Gautam Gambhir if you believe in him, that he can change your life for better, and can try to make this country a better place to live in.”

Gautam Gambhir to <b>The Quint</b>

If he does take the plunge, Gambhir will be walking a now-crowded path of cricketers to have moved into politics, such as Kirti Azad, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Mohammed Azharuddin and Mohammed Kaif.