Don't create monsters in dressing room - Gambhir

[vvvslaxman]

• https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/dont-create-monsters-in-dressing-room-it-was-ms-dhoni-earlier-it-s-virat-kohli-now-gautam-gambhir-makes-fiery-rant-101663571511539.html

'Don't create monsters in dressing room...': Gambhir slams 'player worshipping', answers 'Dhoni then, Kohli now' query

Cricket

Updated on Sep 19, 2022 03:12 PM IST

Gambhir believes that the 'hero worship' culture, which dates back to 1983 when India had scripted history with their cricket World Cup win, has led to fans hailing stars like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Kapil Dev to an extent that they have forgotten the contributions of other members of the team.

 

Former India cricketer and a two-time World Cup winner, Gautam Gambhir, has criticised the 'hero worship' which is prevalent in Indian cricket fraternity, not just among the fans, but also in media and by the broadcasters themselves. Gambhir believes that this culture, which dates back to 1983 when India had scripted history with their cricket World Cup win, has led to fans hailing stars like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Kapil Dev to an extent that they have forgotten or disregarded the contributions of other members of the team.

 

 

Gambhir was asked the question: "Do you think that this whole hero worship chokes the next star to come up? Nobody has grown in that shadow. It was Mahendra Singh Dhoni earlier, it is Virat Kohli now," during the Indian Express on their show 'Idea Exchange'.

Gambhir, the former India opener, initially, was talking about his approach in politics before he shifted to the gentleman's game when asked a follow-up question on brand-creation in Indian cricket. It is then that he said, "Don't create monsters in the dressing room. Only monster should be Indian cricket, not an individual".

 

The entire country had celebrated former captain Kohli after he had ended his 1021-day long century drought with a stellar 122 in the match. It was his first international century since November 2019 and very first in T20I cricket. What had left Gambhir concerned was that while Kohli did make a meaningful contribution to the match and to India's win, there was another player who was equally incredible in the game with his record-scripting five-wicket haul - Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

 

"When Kohli got a 100 and there was this young guy  ( ) from a small town of Meerut [Bhuvneshwar Kumar], who also managed to get five wickets, no one even bothered to speak about him. This was so unfortunate. I was the only one, during that commentary stint, who said that.  He bowled four overs and got five wickets and I don’t think anyone knows about that. But Kohli scores a 100 and there are celebrations everywhere in this country. 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," he said.

 

 

"Who created that? It is created by two things. First, by social media followers, which is probably the fakest thing in this country because you are judged by how many followers you have. That is what creates a brand."

Gambhir further explained how this "hero worship" culture has been prevalent in Indian cricket since 1983 with people only talking about then captain Kapil Dev. He pointed out that the same happened in 2007 and 2011 when India claimed the T20 World Cup and the ODI World Cup respectively under Dhoni's captaincy.

"Second, by the media and the broadcasters. If you keep talking about one person day in and day out, it eventually becomes a brand. That is how it was in 1983. Why start from Dhoni? It started in 1983. When India won the first World Cup, it was all about Kapil Dev. When we won in 2007 and 2011, it was Dhoni. Who created that? None of the players did. Nor did the BCCI. Have the news channels and broadcasters ever spoken about Indian cricket? Have we ever spoken that Indian cricket needs to flourish?" he added.

 

"There are more than two or three people who are stakeholders of Indian cricket. They don’t rule Indian cricket, they should not be ruling Indian cricket. Indian cricket should be ruled by the 15 people sitting in that dressing room. Everyone has a contribution to make… I've never been able to follow anyone in my life. And that has been my biggest problem. The media and the broadcasters create a brand, no one else creates a brand."

[beetle]

It is embarrasing to see virat's and media's reaction to a century against a minnow team.

[Throwaib_Chuckter]

4 minutes ago, sarchasm said:

Gambhir dares call our lordgod K-LOL.....a monster? Will be sorted in quick time.

Your signature clearly outlines what happens to those brave enough to disturb slumbering gits.

 

Chuckte Raho

TC

[vvvslaxman]

Gambhir has been vocal about a lot of things. One hot topic he talks about is DK vs Pant. From the beginning Gauti is absolutely dead against DK even being in the squad not just playing XI. First Sunny had to give him a counter. Now against 2 days back he reiterates Pant should be picked over DK. Not Both.

[Vickydev]

3 hours ago, vvvslaxman said:

 

"When Kohli got a 100 and there was this young guy  ( ) from a small town of Meerut [Bhuvneshwar Kumar], who also managed to get five wickets, no one even bothered to speak about him. This was so unfortunate. I was the only one, during that commentary stint, who said that. 

32 year old youngsta beauty... 

 

[Bigg Brother]

GG for BCCI president....

[Lord]

4 hours ago, vvvslaxman said:

Gambhir has been vocal about a lot of things. One hot topic he talks about is DK vs Pant. From the beginning Gauti is absolutely dead against DK even being in the squad not just playing XI. First Sunny had to give him a counter. Now against 2 days back he reiterates Pant should be picked over DK. Not Both.

 

And his point is solid too reg DK

[putrevus]

Gambhir has too many issues.Respecting and admiring greatness is not hero worship. There is no bigger hero worship in Indian than Sachin but this guy never brings that up. One off performances are always lauded but they cannot be put on pedastal.

 

Jimmy was MOM in both semis and finals  1983 but he is not held in the same regard as either Sunny or Kapil and rightly so. Bhuvi was not the story of Afghanistan match.So I don't know why this idiot keeps bringing that up.

[Number]

Gambhir has his share of behavioural problems but the guy is definitely not a status quoist and a contrarian among yes boys.

Someone who is definitely needed in the system.

[vvvslaxman]

53 minutes ago, Lord said:

 

And his point is solid too reg DK

 

His argument is Pant "can open". lol I am not sure he is going to open at all.  Besides his point about Karthik doesn't want bat before 5. Is it something he controls himself? I don't think so.  Shouldn't that be Kishan if he wants wicket keeping opener?

[Lord]

1 minute ago, vvvslaxman said:

 

His argument is Pant "can open". lol I am not sure he is going to open at all.  Besides his point about Karthik doesn't want bat before 5. Is it something he controls himself? I don't think so.  Shouldn't that be Kishan if he wants wicket keeping opener?

 

He has opened so atleast there's an option.

 

Karthik bats only in last 5 overs to the point no. 7 is promoted ahead. Gotta be very consistent to justify that as a specialist bat.

[vvvslaxman]

5 hours ago, sarchasm said:

 

That is because for all his flaws and emotional meltdowns here and there, Gambo is astute enough to see the trend instead of an odd inning here and there. DK has a decade and half worth of nondescript career behind him. An odd inning here and another cameo there - or even a flashy IPL season or two - cannot mask the lukewarm fare that makes up the bulk of his career.

 

For the record Pant has played more T20s than DK and yet nothing to show for.  Always goes through a passage where he struggles to buy a run. It is Pant that is scoring "here" and"there" hitting a few sixes of a tiring spinner making his overall stats less pathetic.  DK's career vastly coincided with MSD who himself was a poor T20 batsman. So he had no chance to supercede him at any point. 

[vvvslaxman]

1 minute ago, Lord said:

 

He has opened so atleast there's an option.

 

Karthik bats only in last 5 overs to the point no. 7 is promoted ahead. Gotta be very consistent to justify that as a specialist bat.

 

Not necessarily last 5. There occasions he had to come in ahead atleast in the IPL say after 12 overs. Besides if India misses someone in the line up that is the finisher. If India's top 3 doesn't stay after 15 overs it is pretty much done for us. We will score like 35 in the last 5 and wimp out.

[Downtown]

Can't wait to see Kohli's next hundred against the top-tier team, Zimbabwe. So, his fans can distribute laddus on roads and celebrate Diwali. 

I'm sure he will continue to score these cheap runs against low-quality teams and send India to the deepest Abyss in the next 1 year. And his fans will continue to chant his name for every meaningless century he scores in pointless bi-laterals.

Kohli, the 2nd biggest Conman after Nityananda.

[Lord]

3 minutes ago, vvvslaxman said:

 

Not necessarily last 5. There occasions he had to come in ahead atleast in the IPL say after 12 overs. Besides if India misses someone in the line up that is the finisher. If India's top 3 doesn't stay after 15 overs it is pretty much done for us. We will score like 35 in the last 5 and wimp out.

 

I'm not talking of IPL. For India, Axar has batted ahead of him.

 

Hardik is also a finisher. SKY can do the job if top 3 stay for long enough. But they are willing to bat earlier too.

[putrevus]

Only a fricking moron will say Kohli can score runs against minnows.

[vvvslaxman]

9 minutes ago, Lord said:

 

I'm not talking of IPL. For India, Axar has batted ahead of him.

 

Hardik is also a finisher. SKY can do the job if top 3 stay for long enough. But they are willing to bat earlier too.

 

I am not sure that was his choice. That is my point. Gambhir says "He doesn't want to before 5". How does he know that? He was a  successful Test opener in England/SA. why would he decline if he is offered to open. His role is always finisher role. Miller's majoriy of his innings are either batting at 5 or 6.  Does it make him a bad choice? T20 is all about roles. Somebody has to bat down right? Everybody cannot bat in top 5.

[nevada]

Gambhir is spot on. What is more important is for the team to keep winning, no matter who plays or doesn't. Both the "Brand" players have been leeches on the team for years. One finally retired only due to covid and another will retire only after stinking up several more tournaments and series. 

[Mohan Swamy]

6 hours ago, beetle said:

It is embarrasing to see virat's and media's reaction to a century against a minnow team.

I rate Afghanistan as a pretty dangerous T20 side. The only reason they could not compete against us was because it was their second game in as many days in that Dubai weather. Only one day prior they had lost that nail biter against Paxtan.

[Lord]

5 minutes ago, vvvslaxman said:

 

I am not sure that was his choice. That is my point. Gambhir says "He doesn't want to before 5". How does he know that? He was a  successful Test opener in England/SA. why would he decline if he is offered to open. His role is always finisher role. Miller's majoriy of his innings are either batting at 5 or 6.  Does it make him a bad choice? T20 is all about roles. Somebody has to bat down right? Everybody cannot bat in top 5.

 

I think he talked about no. of deliveries too

 

Quote

To start with, Rishabh Pant. Because I have said it in the past as well, you don't pick a T20 player only to play 10-12 balls. There is no guarantee that he is going to win you games. And Dinesh Karthik, unfortunately, has shown no interest in batting in the top-5. Your wicketkeeper has to be able to bat in the top-5 and Rishabh Pant has that quality to bat at any number for that matter,” Gambhir added

 

I agree DK doesnt select his position, but teams decide it based on players can offer.

 

If DK showed he can resurrect after a collapse, there would be no debate. But in such situations,Axar is sent ahead.

 

It doesnt have to be Pant,whoever offers more can be preferred.