'They don't rule Indian cricket': Gautam Gambhir cites examples of Kohli, Dhoni and Kapil Dev, says 'hero worship' creates problems

Former India captain and stylish opening batter Gautam Gambhir's contribution to Indian cricket has been monumental. Gambhir was part of the two title-winning Indian teams, first the T20 World Cup in 2007 and then the ODI World Cup in 2011. The left-handed batter was the highest scorer in both the matches for India and his runs played a pivotal role in India rising to become world champions.

Gambhir, however, is unimpressed by how just a handful of cricketers are perceived as superstars and 'worshiped' by fans. Gambhir cited a recent example of Virat Kohli to make a strong argument. In the recently-concluded Asia Cup 2022, Kohli ended the century drought and smashed his maiden T20I hundred against Afghanistan. In the same match, Bhuvneshwar Kumar bagged five wickets in four overs and conceded just four runs.

Gambhir though hit out people who just reveled in Kohli's century and forgot Bhuvneshwar Kumar's stunning spell of bowling.

"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," Gambhir said in the Idea Exchange with The Indian Express.

The former Indian cricketer urged fans to not just focus on select few players but give equal importance to all the 15 players in the squad.

"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 continued.

"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.

"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? 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," he affirmed.