Gambhir not planning to go down order

The southpaw last played a Test in December 2012, when India drew with England at Nagpur in the final match of the already lost four-match series.

With Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma being certainties for opening slot in ODIs and Murali Vijay doing reasonably well in Tests, Gambhir’s career as of now has hit a roadblock as he fights to at least get into the squad as the third opener in national team’s tour to South Africa.

‘As long as the belief is still there, I can play international cricket, I will continue to play. But the moment I feel I can’t play international cricket anymore, I will retire,’ Gambhir said at a promotional event on Wednesday. He also ruled out going down the order, something which his partner Veteran Sehwag is doing currently. ‘I have always been an opener, so there is no question of changing positions. This has always been my strength  he said.

On Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement, Gambhir, who shared the dressing room with the legend for a very long time, said he is in awe of his fairytale career.

‘Sachin is not only my true role model but he is a role model for the entire world. His humility speaks volumes about his character. His humility makes him the kind of person he is,’ Gambhir said.

Presently out of the Indian team, Gambhir was not a part of Tendulkar’s farewell celebrations in the second Test against the West Indies in Mumbai last week.

‘My best memory of Tendulkar was when we won the 2011 World Cup. Knowing that it was Tendulkar’s last World Cup we were determined to win the trophy for him and we managed to do that, so it became special.’