Former India batsman Gautam Gambhir has called out the individual obsession and the personality glorification of the Indian cricket fans and the media while talking about the 2011 World Cup triumph.
Speaking on how fans often remember that six from MS Dhoni that sealed the World Cup 2011 trophy in the final against Sri Lanka, Gautam Gambhir even went on to say that sometimes the media and fans tend to underpraise the contributions of even Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar in India’s 2011 WC victory.
Speaking with Revsportz, Gautam Gambhir said: “Do we celebrate Yuvraj Singh enough for what he did in the 2011 World Cup with all the health concerns he had? Do we celebrate Zaheer Khan’s opening spell enough? To start off a World Cup final with four maiden overs is incredible, and yet he isn’t given enough credit.
“Do we celebrate Sachin Tendulkar’s efforts enough? Yes, we celebrate him and the win, but how many remember he was the highest scorer in the World Cup with two hundreds to his name? Do we celebrate Harbhajan Singh’s spell against Pakistan in Mohali, or Suresh Raina’s innings against Australia in Ahmedabad and Pakistan in Mohali? Both these innings were match-winning efforts.”
Social media to celebrate individuals more than the team: Gautam Gambhir
MS Dhoni’s 91* was picked for the Player of the Match award in the final over Gautam Gambhir’s 97 and over Zaheer Khan’s terrific new-ball spell.
This is not the first time the former KKR captain has made his views public on individual romanticisation in the Indian media and fans. He reiterated his opinion that it was a complete team victory, and that others in the 2011 World Cup winning squad don’t get the credit they deserve.
“While we celebrate MS Dhoni’s innings in the final, we should celebrate these other efforts as much. No one innings could win India the trophy. It was a collective effort, and should be celebrated as such. It is because of social media that we don’t do it. Social media is biased and we all know that. But social media doesn’t make it the truth.
“There is always a tendency on social media to celebrate individuals more than the team. In doing so, what happens is we don’t celebrate key performers who had as much a part to play. And that’s an issue for sure. All I will say is we should celebrate the entire team. While we celebrate Dhoni, we should also celebrate the others who all played very important roles in the Indian win,” the former batsman added.
With the upcoming World Cup 2023 less than two months away, Gautam Gambhir would hope that the Indian fans don’t indulge in fighting over their personal idols – the separate fan bases of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma often degrade the other player on social media – and support the team as one unit.
