I don't play cricket for selfish reasons: Gautam Gambhir

Out-of-favour opener Gautam Gambhir is determined to fight his way back into the national team through hardwork, saying that he doesn't want to take the "selfish" route by scoring heavily on flat tracks to stage his comeback.

"I have never played cricket for selfish reasons like scoring 800-900 runs on flat tracks to make a comeback. It's upto an individual and I am not one of those guys who would back out from competition. Delhi team needed outright wins and I insisted on playing on green top at the Roshanara rather than on a flat track. Had I played on a flat track, I could have got close to 900 runs. I have never ever played cricket that way with such selfish motives," Gambhir told PTI in an exclusive interview here on Saturday.

The 31-year-old scored 578 runs in the Ranji Trophy this season with a top score of 153 at the Roshanara on a green top against Haryana just before the Test squad to South Africa was announced.

With the team for New Zealand also announced, Gambhir has taken the decision to chin-up and is ready to fight his way back.