The former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has been quite vocal against the habit of Indian cricket fans of worshipping a particular cricketer and making them hero. He has stated many times that cricket is a team game and matches can’t be won by only one player.
Gautam Gambhir played an important role in India’s win in the 2007 ICC T20 World Cup and the 2011 ICC ODI World Cup and recently in an interview, he states that there are many players who did not the credit that they deserved.
He stated that when it comes to giving credit, forget him, even Yuvraj Singh didn’t get enough credit for his efforts. Gambhir went on to say that Zaheer Khan also didn’t get the credit because almost no one remembers the first spell of Zaheer Khan which set the platform for India’s win. Gambhir said that Zaheer bowled four maidens out of 5 overs that he bowled in first spell but no one remembers now.
Gautam Gambhir adds that leave aside his performance in the finals in which he scored 97 runs, many didn’t remember Suresh Raina’s innings against the Australian team, Munaf Patel’s bowling against Australia and there are many other contributors about whom nobody talked. He further says that nobody talks about even Sachin Tendulkar who was the highest scorer for India in the tournament but we talk only about one six which was smashed by MS Dhoni.
As per Gambhir, it is the media and social media which play an important role in creating images and it is done by spending money. He says that other players can also spend money for this purpose and he can also do that but he prefers to live in the real world. He added that he played cricket for making his country proud and even if he has done it once, it is enough for him and he believes that he has achieved whatever was possible to achieve in his career.
This is not the first time that the cricketer turned politician has talked against hero worshipping in India and he has also stated that one of the big reasons for India’s poor performance in the recent times is hero worship.
Well, he seems to be correct, what are your thoughts on it? Do you agree with Gautam Gambhir?
