Cricket star Gautam Gambhir condemns the culture of hero worship – “Don’t create monsters in dressing room, Only monster should be Indian cricket.”
Cricket star Gautam Gambhir condemns the culture of hero worship – “Don’t create monsters in dressing room, Only monster should be Indian cricket.” Gautam Gambhir, a former India cricket player, and two-time World Cup winner, has spoken out against the “hero worship” that is common in the Indian cricket community. This is not just among fans but also in the media and broadcasters. Gambhir thinks that this culture, which started when India won the cricket World Cup in 1983 and made history, has led fans to praise stars like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Kapil Dev so much that they have forgotten or ignored what other team members have done.
GG on Indian Express
The question was put to Gambhir: “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 “Idea Exchange” show on the Indian Express.
Gambhir, the former India opener, started out by talking about his approach to politics. When they asked a follow-up question about building a brand in Indian cricket, he switched to talking about the gentleman’s game. That’s when he said, “Don’t create monsters in the dressing room. Only monster should be Indian cricket, not an individual.”
After Kohli scored 122 in the match, it was the first time in 1021 days that he had scored a hundred. The whole country celebrated. It was his first century on the international stage since November 2019 and his first ever in a Twenty20 International. Kohli did make a big difference in the game and helped India win. But GG said Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s record-setting five-wicket haul showed that there was another player in the game who was just as good.
Here’s what he 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. 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.”
Breaking the “hero worship” pattern – From Dev to Dhoni to Kohli
Gambhir went on to say that this culture of “hero worship” has been common in Indian cricket since 1983 when everyone only talked about the captain at the time, Kapil Dev. He said that the same thing happened in 2007 and 2011 when Dhoni was captain and India won the T20 World Cup and the ODI World Cup.
“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.”