Former Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir has become the latest cricketer to step into the world of politics as he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday.
According to NDTV, Gambhir will be contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket. He is expected to be fielded by the party in the upcoming polls from one of the seven seats in Delhi.
Gambhir joined BJP in the presence of Union ministers Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad.
"I’m inspired by PM’s vision and work. I hope to do good work,” Gambhir said.
The 37-year-old joins the like of former Indian cricketers Mohammad Azharuddin, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Mohammad Kaif, Praveen Kumar, Vinod Kambli, Kirti Azad and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi who turned to a life of serving the public.
The Delhi-based batsman who retired from international cricket in 2018, was instrumental in helping India win the T20 World Cup 2007 and World Cup 2011 playing solid knocks in finals of both the tournaments.
Gambhir who last played for India in a Test match in 2016, has played 58 Tests and 147 ODIs for the country scoring 9392 including 20 centuries.
He also led Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders to two titles.
