In a recent interview, Gautam Gambhir restated his views on the World Cup, maintaining that the current structure places too much emphasis on an individual’s performance.
Gautam Gambhir, one of India’s all-time great cricketers, led his team to victory in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 and the 2011 World Cup finals. Gambhir played a pivotal role in India’s victories at the two major tournaments. However, there are many who believe his achievements, particularly at the 2011 World Cup, are underappreciated. Gambhir stated in an interview that he does not feel bad about being overlooked for the World Cup victory because India ultimately won.
Gambhir, in an interview with RevSportz, credited several teammates for India’s 2011 World Cup victory who didn’t receive much recognition. Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, etc., were among those named.
Do we give Yuvraj Singh enough credit for winning the World Cup in 2011 despite his health problems? Should we make a bigger deal out of Zaheer Khan’s opening spell? He doesn’t get nearly enough credit for bowling four consecutive maiden overs to start the World Cup final. Should Sachin Tendulkar’s achievements be recognized more often? We honor him and the victory, but how many people realize he scored two hundred points in the World Cup? Which performance against Pakistan in Mohali, Harbhajan Singh’s bowling, or Suresh Raina’s batting in Ahmedabad and Mohali, is more worthy of celebration? He commented in the conversation that each of these innings was a game-winning one.
Gambhir reaffirmed his previous comments that Dhoni’s innings weren’t solely responsible for India’s World Cup victory. The former cricketer-turned-politician even suggested that social media, which he had worked for, is ‘biassed’ on such issues.
We should honor these other efforts just as much as we honor MS Dhoni’s final innings. India couldn’t win the championship with just one innings. It was a group effort that deserves recognition. The influence of social media has led us to refrain from doing so. Everyone is well aware that social media is biased. But just because it’s on social media doesn’t make it so. Social media has a history of glorifying individuals rather than groups. As a result, we fail to recognize other deserving contributors who are just as deserving of recognition. Indeed, that is a problem. All I can say is that we ought to have a party for the whole squad. It’s not only about celebrating Dhoni but about celebrating everyone who had a hand in India’s victory, he said.
