Gautam Gambhir has spoken out against ‘hero worship’ in Indian cricket, believing that the fascination with top talents like as Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni should be focused on other performers as well.
Without mentioning MS Dhoni, Gambhir stated that one guy and his public relations staff made him the hero of the 2007 and 2011 World Cups, but in truth, it was Yuvraj Singh who led India to the finals of both tournaments.
“He (Yuvraj) always says I won the World Cup, but I believe Yuvraj Singh was the man who got us to the finals of the 2011 and 2007 World Cups, and I believe he was the man of the tournament in both tournaments,” Gambhir told News18.
“I’m not sure (though Yuvraj won the award in 2011, Shahid Afridi was named Man of the Tournament in the 2007 T20 World Cup).” However, it is regrettable that Yuvraj Singh’s name is not included while discussing the 2007 and 2011 World Cups. So why not? “It’s just marketing and public relations, portraying one person as the biggest and everyone else as smaller than him,” he explained.
“No one is underrated; it’s all about public relations and marketing.” We’ve been told who won the World Cups in 2007 and 2011, but it wasn’t just one person; it was the complete squad. A large tournament cannot be won by a single person. If it were true, India would have won 5-10 World Cups,” he remarked.
Gambhir also stated that India is not a team-oriented country, but rather a nation preoccupied with individuals, which is why the team has not won an ICC title in quite some time.
“A lot of people won’t say it, but this is the truth, and I think I should say it because it should be brought to the attention of the world: our country is not a team-obsessed country, but an individual-obsessed country,” he explained.
“We believe that people are more important than teams. Other countries, like as England, Australia, and New Zealand, value the team over the individual. Everyone involved in Indian cricket, from the broadcaster to the media, has been reduced to the status of a public relations firm.
If the broadcasters refuse to give you credit, you will always be underappreciated. This is the most important fact. “We haven’t won an ICC tournament in a long time because we are so obsessed with individuals,” he explained.
Gambhir claims that this hero worship began with Kapil Dev in 1983, when India won the World Cup.
How many people have heard of Mohinder Amarnath? “Ask any of these people how often they’ve seen Mohinder Amarnath’s photo with the 1983 World Cup,” he remarked.
“How did Mohinder Amarnath Ji fare in the World Cup?” Have you only seen Kapil Dev ji lift the trophy? In both the semi-final and final, Mohinder Amarnath ji was named Man of the Match. Did any of you know Mohinder Amarnath ji was named Man of the Match in the final?
(The audience responds no.) This is the issue. Only one photo from the 1983 World Cup has been shown to date: Kapil Dev ji lifting the trophy. “Occasionally, show Mohinder Amarnath ji as well!” he said.
