Gautam Gambhir was born on 14 October 1981, in Delhi. He is an Indian opening batsman, a Left-handed batsman and a Leg Break bowler.

Fast-bowler bullies have paid the price for mistaking Gambhir's slight build and shy demeanour for signs of meekness. His compact footwork, high bat-speed and a brashly youthful approach befuddled bowlers more than once.

He is a member of Indian national cricket team since 2003 (One-dayers) and 2004 (Tests). Gambhir had been a prolific run-scorer in domestic cricket with an average of over 50 but his two successive double-hundreds in 2002 (one of them against the visiting Zimbabweans) made him a strong contender for India's opening slot. He became only the fourth Indian batsman to score a double century in a tour game at home; the previous three being Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Sachin Tendulkar.

Gambhir was selected in 2000 for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

He made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in the TVS Cup in 2003. In his third match, he scored 71 and was named Man of the Match. His maiden century {103 off 97 balls) came against Sri Lanka in 2005. In 2004, he made his Test debut against Australia in the fourth and the last Test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy but did himself no favours by getting out for 3 and 1. He made amends in his second Test, however, scoring 96 against the South Africans. His maiden Test century came against Bangladesh in December 2004. Gambhir then made a number of starts in the home series against Pakistan in 2005, but was able to make only one half-century in six innings. He made a 97 in Zimbabwe later that year, but failed to reach 30 against Sri Lanka at home, repeatedly struggling against Chaminda Vaas, and was subsequently dropped from the Test team. He was replaced by Wasim Jaffer, who has already made a double hundred and a hundred in seven Tests since comeback.