Feature
Gautam Gambhir, says will retire when no emotions involved in cricket
New Delhi: He has been in the cricketing field for over a decade now and is the only Indian to have scored hundreds in five consecutive Test matches. Former India opener Gautam Gambhir, 37, says he will retire the day he feels there are no emotions involved in the game.
Asked what keeps him going on the cricket field and if he has any targets before hanging up his boots, Gambhir told media persons over phone from Mumbai: “No, till the time I keep scoring runs, that makes me happy. You keep doing it. I think scoring runs, winning, coming back to the dressing room happy, being in the winning environment makes me happy.”
“Till the time I have that passion in me, where I want to come back to a happy dressing room, I want to be a part of that happy environment — I am going to keep going, and the day I feel that there are no emotions involved in it then I would think it’s time to go.”
Born in Delhi, Gambhir started his career in 1999 with the Ranji Trophy and made his Test debut in 2004. In 2011, he started his captaincy with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Under his captaincy, KKR won their IPL title in 2012 and again in 2014.
Gambhir played an integral part in India’s wins in the finals of both the 2007 World Twenty20 (75 runs from 54 balls) and the 2011 Cricket World Cup (97 from 122).
He was conferred the Arjuna Award in 2008. In 2009, he was the number one ranked batsman in ICC Test rankings and was the recipient of the ICC Test Player of the Year award.
Has his professional journey been fulfilling or is there any vacuum he can perhaps fill?
Gautam Gambhir planning retirement when no more emotions left for cricket:
“You can always fill in something. There is never an end to your journey and probably the day I would feel that has been achieved, I obviously could not have continued playing,” he said.
“There is a vacuum and there is always something more to achieve in life as well and that is what makes a person work hard and keep going forward as well,” said Gambhir, who in the 2018 IPL auction, was bought by the Delhi Daredevils for Rs 2.8 crore, and was appointed as the captain before he stepped down midway into the tournament.
Gambhir, who attended the Vicks’ new #TouchOfCare campaign launch here last week, says in 11 years, IPL has become more difficult and challenging.
“That will always happen because new players will come. Challenges will be different, players and franchises will get more smarter. From the first to the eleventh edition, IPL has got tougher, better and more challenging.”
“That is where the most biggest challenge for any sportsman is. If you can keep growing with that challenge, that is what will keep you going,” the southpaw said.
Overall in his career, there are more things to achieve, Gambhir says.
“I’m not going to say that there is not anything left to achieve. Obviously there is something to achieve. That keeps me going,” he said.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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