Former India cricketer and LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir has hit back at his critics, especially those who had questioned his participation in IPL 2022. The 2011 World Cup winner for India remains a usual target for his political opponents who had cited his media roles alleging that the East Delhi MP is lax when it comes to serving his constituency.
If it is wrong to install free kitchens, libraries, smog towers for the public by earning honest money, then I will make this mistake again and again! pic.twitter.com/dj4srwSdZ4
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) June 4, 2022
Meanwhile Gambhir has hit back at his critics in a 53-second video where he can be seen asking the media to publish his version of the story. “ho sake toh isko chaap dena,” he can be heard saying.
“Why I commentate in IPL or work in it is because I spend INR 25 lakh every month to feed 5000 people. This translates to roughly Rs. 2.75 crore per year. I’ve also spent INR 25 lakh to build a library.
“I spend all of this money from my own pocket and not from the MPLAD fund. The MPLAD fund doesn’t run my kitchen or other things that I do. I don’t have a tree in my house from where I can pluck money either,” Gambhir said.
“Only because I work, I’m able to feed those 5000 people or establish that library. I have no shame in saying that I do commentary and work in the IPL. All of this that I do has an ultimate goal,” Gambhir can be heard saying in the video.
The 40-year-old is currently serving as mentor to Lucknow Supergiants which finished fourth in the recently concluded IPL 2022. He also woks as commentator-cum-pundit for Star. Gambhir won the World Cup 2011 for India where he scored 97 runs in the big final against Sri Lanka. He then fought Loksabha Elections 2019 on behalf of BJP and won from East Delhi constituency. He played 58 Tests and 147 ODIs for India, amassing more than 9,000 international runs.
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