Gautam Gambhir feud with Bishan Singh Bedi escalates after 'nepotism' charges

Navdeep Saini's sensational debut in the first Twenty20 International where he took 3/17 against the West Indies has escalated into a massive war of words in Delhi between Gautam Gambhir and former India skipper Bishan Singh Bedi. Gambhir had lashed out against Bedi and Chetan Chauhan over how Saini had to fight to get into the Delhi Ranji Team. "Kudos Navdeep Saini on ur India debut. U already have 2 wkts even before u have bowled-@BishanBedi & @ChetanChauhanCr. Their middle stumps are gone seeing the debut of a player whose cricketing obituary they wrote even before he stepped on the field, shame!!!," Gambhir had tweeted after the end of the first match. Following this, Bedi criticised Gambhir and said he would never 'stoop to conquer'. "I would rather not react to any comments on twitter. I have never said a negative thing about Navdeep Saini. Also I believe if someone has made it, it's his credit, not any Tom, Dick or Harry's," Bedi said in an interaction with PTI.

However, the feud has escalated with Gambhir accusing Bedi of 'nepotism' and dragging the former skipper's son and Bollywood actor Angad Bedi into the controversy. Attaching a PTI report written in 2013, Gambhir once again took a pot shot at Bedi and Chauhan. "BishanBedi talking about "stooping to conquer", the man who was pushing his undeserving son for selection or ChetanChauhanCr bent on getting his nephew in DDCA team. Shame. Also reproducing Bedi's comments on Navdeep in a protest letter of 2013."

😂 @BishanBedi talking about “stooping to conquer” 😂,man who was pushing his undeserving son for selection or @ChetanChauhanCr bent on getting his nephew in DDCA team. Shame. Also reproducing Bedi’s comments on Navdeep in a protest letter of 2013. Read onhttps://t.co/hhwMDViipZ

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) August 4, 2019

Gambhir attached a PTI report from 2013 in which Bedi had written a letter questioning Saini's selection as he wasn't from Delhi domicile. On Sunday, Bedi denied that he had any role to play. Bedi and Chauhan were part of a faction of the Delhi and District Cricket Association members who did not approve of Gambhir's move to bring in Haryana-born Saini in the Delhi Ranji Trophy team. They had questioned how an 'outsider' could get into the Delhi team. This was not the first time Gambhir had taken a potshot at Bedi and Chauhan. He had done the same when Saini made it to India's Test squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan last year. Saini, however, did not play in that Test. Saini had said earlier that he owed his success to Gambhir and a few other senior Delhi players.

Angad Bedi had played U-19 cricket for Delhi before he decided to enter the modelling world. He is best remembered for hosting the first season of the Reality Show Emotional Atyachar. He has acted in films like F.A.L.T.U and the critically-acclaimed Pink starring Tapsee Pannu and Amitabh Bachchan. He is married to Bollywood actress Neha Dhupia.

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HIGHLIGHTS

• Navdeep Saini took 3/17 on his debut.
• Saini started playing for Delhi in 2013.
• Gambhir retired from all forms of cricket in 2018.