In India’s final match of the Asia Cup 2022, Virat Kohli ended his long wait for a century in any form of cricket since November 2019 by hitting an unbeaten 122 against Afghanistan in Dubai. It was his maiden T20I century – 71st overall.
However, during the same contest, right-arm pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar produced one of the finest spells of fast bowling in T20I history by taking a five-wicket haul while allowing just four runs in four overs. Despite, Bhuvneshwar’s stunning spell, the spotlight, as per former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir, was firmly on Kohli’s century with the pacer getting little to no attention.
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And this Gambhir feels is what’s wrong with the cricket culture in India – the act of hero worshipping which is something that people of this country, as per him, should shun.
“When Kohli got a 100 (at Asia Cup) and there was this young guy (Bhuvneshwar) from a small town of Meerut, 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," Gambhir told the Indian Express.
He continued, “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 pointed out how the big contributions make the headlines.
“Only the big contributions, unfortunately, make headlines. It’s the small contributions, which we never bothered about. How many people have spoken about Bhuvneshwar Kumar? No one. It was the same game, same opposition and everything was the same," said Gambhir who won two world cups – T20I and ODI – during his playing career.
Gambhir pointed out that despite putting in equal effort as that of bigger names, Bhuvneshwar got little coverage and all because he’s not a brand.
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“You (broadcaster) called him for a 5-minute interview after the match. How long did you run it? Just because he’s not a brand. He must have also worked equally hard. He must have also come from a humble background. He also deserves the same appreciation and the same credit. But because he’s not sellable or probably doesn’t get the numbers or the TRP. Everything can’t be about numbers Everything can’t be TRP. If the marketing team cannot sell someone, it is their problem," he said.
And Gambhir put this blame on social media followers, media (news) and the broadcasters.
“Who created that (brand)? 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 said.
He accused media and broadcasters of focusing on one individual and not on the team as a whole.
“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," Gambhir said.
“The media and the broadcasters create a brand, no one else creates a brand," he added.
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