Former India batsman and two-time World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir is known for his direct, bold, and brazen attitude. He batted fearlessly, and he commentates in the same manner.
While some ex-cricketers may be cautious about their statements about some of the superstar Indian cricketers and the board, and be careful about their image in the public eye, Gautam Gambhir is someone who speaks his mind with boldness and clarity, someone who isn’t afraid of criticising the demi-god cricketers in the country and even take a swipe at the management and selectors when they make mistakes.
Since retiring, Gautam Gambhir has been a regular feature in the commentary box, pre and post-match discussions, and also on news channels.
Here are Gautam Gambhir’s 5 brutally honest comments on Indian cricket and its cricketers:
On Yuvraj as the greatest Indian batsman
This statement offended the fans of Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Sunil Gavaskar, but for Gautam Gambhir, he doesn’t mind as he spoke his opinion. Gambhir recently hailed Yuvraj Singh, India’s hero in the 2007 T20 WC and 2011 WC, as the greatest batsman this country has produced.
On individual worship
Gambhir has spoken about the individual worshipping of players by the fans in this country a number of times in the past. And it’s likely he would speak of it again in the future because fans on social media remain divided and fight amongst each other over their idols. The large fanbases of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and MS Dhoni often indulge in tussles on social media, and this is what Gautam Gambhir spoke up against.
He said: “India needs to come out of this hero worship. Whether it’s Indian cricket, whether it’s politics, whether it’s Delhi cricket. We have to stop worshipping heroes. The only thing that we need to worship is Indian cricket, or for that matter Delhi or India.”
“Who created that? It is created by two things. First, by social media followers, which is probably the fakest thing in this country. Second, by the media and the broadcasters.”
On tobacco endorsement by some former Indian legends
There was a huge furore among fans when Indian legends Virender Sehwag, Sunil Gavaskar, and Kapil Dev were seen in advertisements of Pan Masala, which is tobacco.
While no other former cricketer spoke of it, it was once again Gambhir who tackled this issue with his stern voice.
“Disgusting and disappointing,” Gambhir said. “That is why I say, choose your role models carefully. One gets recognised not by their name, but by the work they do. Crores of kids are watching. Money is not that important that you will end of doing a Pan Masala ad.
“Sachin Tendulkar was offered 20-30 crores but said no to these pan masala ads. He had promised his father that he would never engage in such stuff, which is why he is a role model,” he said.
The captain is as good as his team
Gautam Gambhir is the only KKR captain to lead the side to IPL trophies, not one, but two. He’s only one of the three IPL captains to have won the IPL trophy as a skipper more than once. However, he didn’t take any credit for that. And instead praised his team for making him look better as a leader.
“A captain is only as good as his team. It is very important for the captain to have a good team,” he said.
Gambhir hits out at Shastri
Ravi Shastri is one of the biggest names in Indian cricket. And barely anyone has ever tried to go against him. But, Gautam Gambhir is not someone who looks to please people with flattery. He calls a spade a spade.
So when Shastri said that his and Kohli’s team was the best Indian team ever, Gambhir was the first one to hit back at the coach.
“The one thing I found surprising is that when you play well, you don’t usually boast about it. It’s fine if others talk about it; when we won the 2011 World Cup, no one gave statements saying that this team is the best in the world, let alone the country,” the left-hander said.
“When you win, let others talk about it. You won in Australia, that’s a big achievement no doubt. You won in England, performed well, no doubt. But let others praise you. You won’t hear such statements from Rahul Dravid. Whether India plays good or bad, his statements will always remain balanced. Moreover, it will reflect on other players.”
