India always had great batters. The country was always termed as powerhouse of world batting. In later years, India found better bowlers as well as great all-rounders. However, the one thing which still remained constant was the team lacked players who played in the most important matches. Just like the man of the match in the final and semifinal of 1983 world cup, Mohinder Amarnath, the country craved for a player who would do wonders when team needed the most. After a lot of years, finally India found the solution in the form of Gautam Gambhir.

Gambhir played with his heart on the sleeve every single time he took the field. But the most notable of his innings for Indians were his heroics in the finals of world cups which India won. He scored a magnificent knock of 75 runs against arch rivals Pakistan in the final of 2007 T20 world cup, helping the Dhoni led team win the inaugural edition of the same. And more important was his contribution in the 2011 World cup final, when he firmly held his ground from one end, scoring the most important knock of 97 runs to help India achieve the world cup dream after long time.

It is quite interesting to know that these are the only world cup finals he played in his career, and what he did in those gave the billions a chance to rejoice. India missed the trick by not including him in the ICC events post the 2011 triumph, as if they had, the man could have done wonders with the opportunity yet again in the finals. He did participate in a few earlier occasions, however the team could not reach to the finals back then. But when it did, he led the team like phoenix from the ashes. On both these occasions, he was not awarded man of the match. And moreover in his entire journey, he never got the respect he really deserves.

That’s been the case with him forever. Apart from being just a great batter, he is one of the most undervalued captains. He has a 100% win record as a captain. He captained 6 matches for India, and won all of them for the team. Out of these 6 matches, was a 5 match series with New Zealand: The nemesis of India. And under his leadership, the team whitewashed the Blackcaps 5-0. He reigned his captaincy for Kolkata Knight Riders as the 2 IPL titles to the franchise were won under Gambhir’s leadership. He has had tremendous success as a captain, which unfortunately has gone unnoticed.

Gambhir is a born leader. He never shies away from giving anything back to the opponents. He always has the back of his team members. And most importantly he genuinely cares about talent and opportunity to youngsters. All these things make him the ideal person one should look up to. His smallest of the acts often display his selflessness. He has fought with the selectors for the talented players to be included in the squad. Nitish Rana, Navdeep Saini and many others credit Gambhir’s support as the backbone of their success.

In addition to this, he has given many players a chance to work in his academy who had the talent but injury had ruined their careers. He doesn’t just assure, he works upon it to provide a better life for many related to the game. He is known to support and motivate youngsters. The prime example of it happened in 2009. India was playing against Srilanka, when Gambhir and Kohli’s centuries helped the team win the match. For Virat, it was a huge moment as the master of centuries now had scored his first one in that match. And knowing this Gambhir decided to give man of the match award to Virat Kohli when the jury had adjudged Gambhir as the awardee. Maybe that slight little push from selfless Gauti helped Virat alleviate his confidence and be the player he is today.

Apart from being a great leader off the field, he is a spectacular as a captain on the field. He is one of the great readers of the game and an outstanding strategist. His field placements were immaculate. He knew when to do a particular thing. One never sees 6 fielders surrounding Dhoni when he bats in a T20 match. A field set like a test in a T20 match against the best finisher world has ever seen, is way beyond the imagination of any sane player. But Gambhir did it, and boy he executed it with great perfection.

Gambhir is a multi-dimensional personality. And the most important dimension of his persona was revealed when he retired and started commentating. He is probably one of the rarest guys who dares to speak the truth. He is vocal about the team’s performance and team’s needs time and again. He is the only person who understands that the star culture in the team is deeply rooted in Indian cricket and is badly affecting the outcomes. He is vocal about it because he always had the team’s success as his priority over everything else. And that’s why he is so different.

A world cup hero, a great batter, finest reader of the game, a selfless team man, a thorough supporter of the team and a undervalued captain, Gautam Gambhir turns 42 today. He is a boon to Indian cricket in every possible way. And after all what he has done to the growth of Indian cricket, he deserves way more appreciation than he currently gets. It’s our job as fans of the game to honour this legend equally with the others. He regrets becoming a cricketer, but India rejoices the fact that he became one. Because there can only one like him in a billion people. We wish the legend a very happy birthday and wish to see him smile more often.