According to Gautam Gambhir, the culture of ‘hero-worship’ is at the heart of the problems plaguing Indian cricket and their dismal performance at ICC competitions.
The culture of ‘hero-worshipping’ in Indian cricket, which Gautam Gambhir says is the underlying cause for the nation’s difficulty to win an ICC trophy, has been the subject of some commentary from Gambhir, specifically from Gautam Gambhir. Following India’s loss to Australia in the final of the World Test Championship, Gambhir stressed the negative influence of the prevalent “individual hero-worshipping” culture and how it affects the approach that many stakeholders in cricket have towards the sport.
The cricketing community as a whole has been critical of India’s performance in the World Test Championship final, which only adds fuel to the fire over the men’s national team’s continuous lack of ICC trophies. The sweeping loss at the hands of Australia has prompted concerns about the status of the Test team, particularly considering their lack of victories outside of Asia since December 2021. This is especially concerning in light of the fact that Australia won the match by a large margin. In contrast to countries that play cricket at the same level, such as England, Australia, and New Zealand, India tends to put more emphasis on individuals than the team, which was brought to light by the fact that Gautam Gambhir mentioned it in his commentary.
Even though Team India has a history of making it to later stages of ICC events, they have historically faltered when the games were most important. This pattern was highlighted by their failure in the WTC finals twice, first to New Zealand and then to Australia, as well as their humiliating performance in the T20 World Cup the previous year. Since India’s victory in the Champions Trophy in 2013, the country has been looking for another ICC trophy but has not yet been successful.
“At this time, all of the parties involved with Indian cricket—from the broadcasters to the media—are, regrettably, little more than a PR agency, and that’s the awful truth. They will only highlight three persons during the entire day. If both of us score 50 runs during the game and only I am displayed on the screens throughout the day, the spectators will believe that I am the lone star of the show. You can expect others to refer to you as a “underrated” player.
Who is to blame when a player is underrated? “The broadcasters themselves, social media, and the experts do it,” Gambhir went on to say. If they only speak about my performances all day and never mention yours, then you will automatically be undervalued.” “If they only talk about my performances all day, then you will automatically be underrated.” You put forth the same amount of effort as I did. You will always be underappreciated if your performance does not receive the recognition that it deserves, and the biggest fact is that we haven’t won an ICC tournament in such a long time because we are obsessed with the individuals.