Trading Places

Today, Gambhir is aware of Chopra8217;s many admirable qualities. 8216;8216;I wish I could have Aakash8217;s grit, his mental toughness8217;8217;, says Gambhir.

They do the same job at the top of the order, using different methods. Chopra probes, Gambhir assaults. Chopra lets time take the shine off the ball; Gautam8217;s plan of action is different. 8216;8216;The best way to take the shine off the ball is by hitting it8217;8217;, says Gambhir, without any trace of humour. It8217;s an attitude Chopra shares, believe it or not, but he played to his team8217;s demands. And paid the price.

8216;8216;If you look at Delhi cricket there are only one-day games played here and that too 40-over games. All of us learnt how to attack, I merely changed my game to the team8217;s requirement.8217;8217;

He says the brief given to him ahead of the tour to Australia was to play the waiting game. The team management asked him to stay there for the first two hours even if he only got 10 runs.

8216;8216;I did that and it succeeded. With so many people applauding what I did and telling me that I was instrumental in the success, I thought that was the way to go8217;8217;, he says with a wry smile.

But he soon learnt cricket8217;s basic truth: every opening batsman must be selfish; selfish about his milestones, his centuries. 8216;8216;It8217;s my fault that I8217;m out of the team. Had I got hundreds, no one would have thought of dropping me. I failed and that8217;s the truth8217;8217;, he says.

Actually, it8217;s half the truth. Three opening century stands with Sehwag in consecutive 8216;away8217; Tests 141 in Melbourne, 123 in Sydney and 160 in Multan showed Chopra had been doing his job, invisibly yet efficiently.

Yet he was dropped in the third Test at Lahore to accommodate skipper Sourav Ganguly, and his performance and confidence dipped.

They are still not back in full. 8216;8216;It was difficult in Pakistan to come off a long lay off and play someone with the pace of Shoaib Akhtar. There are no bowling machines in Delhi for me to practise against. It was always going to be tough.8217;8217;

But Chopra has now come to terms with the chaos that surrounded his life last year and now wants to go back to playing the game for the sheer joy of it. 8216;8216;Maybe that might get me back into the team. Maybe I am trying too hard.8217;8217;

Gambhir has the advantage of witnessing Chopra8217;s fall over the past year and the 8216;8216;maybes8217;8217; that have crept in. 8216;8216;I don8217;t worry about failure. Neither do I worry too much about my technique. I am mentally prepared for Pakistan. It will be tough but it8217;s a dream to play Pakistan8217;8217;, says Gambhir.

And he has passed the crucial opening test implied by coaches: The pull and the cut are his favourite strokes. Chopra, though, will have to rethink on his favourite cover drive stroke.