Why Gambhir wants "hero worship" to end in Indian cricket

Brut India

"It is important to win ICC trophies..." Gautam Gambhir underlines what it takes to win big tournaments.  : Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)

Transcript

00:00If you've scored a 97 and haven't scored a 100, you're not successful.

00:04If you haven't taken a fifer, you're not successful.

00:06Hero worship is not important. Worshipping Indian cricket is more important.

00:10Whether it is Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli or MS Dhoni, that is what is unfortunate.

00:15And that is what needs to change if India needs to go on to win ICC trophies.

00:30Can you tell us who really stands out for you? One boy, one girl?

00:35You're asking a very, very unfair question.

00:38I think it's very unfair to ask me this question that I should be able to name one or two.

00:41I think everyone that represents the country is this poster boy,

00:45irrespective of whether they win medals or they don't.

00:48Because representing the country itself is a massive achievement.

00:52I know we always relate to the scores, the medals, the outputs, what he's done.

00:59Imagine the amount of hard work that goes behind representing your country,

01:02behind representing 140 crores Indians.

01:05So everyone is a poster boy and everyone should be a poster boy.

01:09Let's talk a little bit about cricket and the current Indian cricket team.

01:13Billions of dollars of investment in this country.

01:16We haven't really won an ICC trophy since 2013 or a World Cup since 2011.

01:23What is it that we are not doing right?

01:26Look, first of all, that's not the parameter to decide whether India is a successful cricketing

01:32nation. Yes, it is important to win ICC trophies. But more importantly, I think I had mentioned

01:39that in my first answer that our obsessions with numbers, we need to get rid of that.

01:45It's not the biggest contributions that will end up winning tournaments.

01:49It's those small contributions which we need to start appreciating.

01:54Big contributions only make headlines.

01:56It's those small contributions which will go on to win those big trophies.

02:01And no individual can do that.

02:03So for me, I think one thing that we've lacked is probably we've not created enough heroes.

02:11We've not given enough appreciation to small contributions.

02:16So whether it is, if you've scored a 97 and haven't scored a 100, you're not successful.

02:22If you haven't taken a FIFA, you're not successful.

02:25It's nothing to do with that.

02:27A wicket here and there is also equally important.

02:29Or a 10 ball 20 is equally important as well.

02:32But how many times, as I just mentioned, how many people remember Zaheer Khan in the 2011

02:37World Cup final? No one.

02:39And why shouldn't we?

02:40And why shouldn't we?

02:41Because five overs, four runs, that first spell was more important than someone scoring 97 or 91

02:47because he was the one who set the tone for us in that entire game.

02:51And I'm sure people in this room, no one remembers that spell.

02:54That is what is unfortunate.

02:56And that is what needs to change if India needs to go on to win ICC trophies.

03:00That is one thing I absolutely believe in.

03:02And I will continue to believe in that.

03:04That hero worship is not important.

03:07Worshiping Indian cricket is more important.

03:10The day we start worshiping Indian cricket or Indian sports,

03:13India will be on a completely different level.

03:15Ultimately, it really doesn't matter how many scores have you scored or how many wickets

03:19have you taken unless and until you don't go on to win the trophies.

03:21Because if you ask anyone, if you ask when someone comes to my place,

03:28obviously my wife has created this entire cabinet of my trophies,

03:32which sometimes can be very, very embarrassing for me because I've never been someone like that.

03:37So whenever someone comes, the only things they talk to me about are those two medals,

03:42which I had won those two World Cups.

03:44No one bothers about all those other trophies.

03:46And that is what is the legacy as well.

03:50That being part of that World Cup winning team.

03:53And I can assure you that whether it is Rohit Sharma now,

03:56or Virat Kohli, or MS Dhoni it was, or whoever is playing currently,

04:01if you ask them whether they want to be a man of the match or a man of the tournament

04:04of the World Cup final, or they want to be part of the World Cup winning team,

04:08they definitely would want to be part of the World Cup winning team.

04:10So there's no shortage of effort.

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