Cricket: Gambhir denies hiding injury

NEW DEHLI: India’s captain Gautam Gambhir rejected claims that he covered up a shoulder injury to play in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL).  “I played with discomfort without realising the gravity of my injury,” said Gambhir. “As a leader, my team needed me but to say I preferred club over country is ridiculous.” Gambhir, who has been ruled out of next month’s one-day series and Twenty20 international in the West Indies, said he felt the injury during the World Cup final and could have aggravated it during the IPL. He was named skipper for the Caribbean tour this month after captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was rested along with Sachin Tendulkar and key paceman Zaheer Khan.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2011.