'I am working hard to earn a recall in the team' - Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir, the Indian Test-discard, said it was over aggression which cost him a place in the Indian squad and he was now sorting out this weakness to stake a claim for a berth in the Test squad for the upcoming series against West Indies.

Refusing to be written off as a failure, Gambhir believed there is no technical flaw in his batting as pointed out by some critics. The problem, he says, is probably in the mind as he suffers from loss of concentration at times and takes his game too seriously. "I got a break into the national team pretty late," Gambhir said. "I had scored 5,000 runs in domestic cricket already when I got my first break. If you get something the hard way, you are bound to cherish and take it very seriously."

However, Gambhir has now realised that aggression pays only when unleashed in the right measure. "I was manufacturing shots in one-dayers, and if you do that you are bound to make more mistakes and get out." But Gambhir denied he tries to copy Sehwag, especially when the latter is he is brandishing his bat at the other end. "I have never tried to compare myself with Sehwag. I concentrate on my own natural game and try to remain positive.

"In one-dayers I concede I have made mistakes but Tests have never been a problem. I have got good starts, I have two 98s in Tests and if I had converted them into 100s, I would have had 3 centuries from 13 matches which is not bad at all. In first-class games I have 20 centuries other than eight or nine scores in the 90s. If I had a technical flaw, I would not have scored all these runs. It is said it is most difficult to score your first 20-25 runs. I wouldn't be getting the starts if I had a problem there."

Gambhir reckoned the problem is in the mind. "It is more to do with the mind. I just need to be judicious in my shot selection. I have identified the problem and realised what I ought to do to be in the squad."

Gambhir, who has managed 409 runs from 16 ODIs at an average of 25.56, denies he is unnerved by the pressure of playing on the big stage. "International cricket is all about pressure, if you can't handle the pressure, you have no business being here."

There have been stinging criticisms about his temperament but Gambhir said he tries not to get bogged down by these. "At this level, you have got to be mentally tough. At the end of the day, you have got to be good enough to be playing for the country. If I make mistakes, there will be criticism."

India play five one-day internationals and four Tests against West Indies between May 18 and July 4.