Gautam Gambhir took a swipe at his former teammate MS Dhoni while praising India's unsung World Cup heroes.
Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir recently shared his thoughts about the triumphant victory of the Indian cricket team in the 2011 ODI World Cup, as the cricketing world gears up for the upcoming 2023 tournament.
Reflecting on the historic win, Gambhir fondly recollected the remarkable performances by Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan, while taking a subtle dig at his former teammate MS Dhoni.
What did Gautam Gambhir say about India's World Cup 2011 heroes?
Gautam Gambhir stood out as a key figure in India's triumphs during the 2007 ICC World T20 and the 2011 World Cup finals. Gambhir's instrumental contributions significantly shaped India's victories in these prestigious tournaments.
There exists a viewpoint, nevertheless, that his outstanding performances, particularly in the 2011 World Cup, haven't garnered the recognition they rightfully merit.
The cricketer-turned-politician claimed that he doesn't care about the level of recognition bestowed upon his heroic contributions. What holds true significance, he underscored, is that Team India emerged victorious in the ODI World Cup, a feat that had eluded them since 1983.
“When you talk about not giving credit, forget about me,” Gambhir told Revv Sports during an interview.
“Do we celebrate Yuvraj Singh enough for what he did in the 2011 World Cup with all the health concerns he had?” the ex-skipper asked.
“Do we celebrate Zaheer Khan's opening spell enough? To start off a World Cup final with four maiden overs is incredible, and yet he isn't given enough credit.
“Do we celebrate Sachin Tendulkar's efforts enough? Yes, we celebrate him and the win, but how many remember he was the highest scorer in the World Cup with two hundreds to his name?
“Do we celebrate Harbhajan Singh's spell against Pakistan in Mohali, or Suresh Raina's innings against Australia in Ahmedabad and Pakistan in Mohali? Both these innings were match-winning efforts.
What did Gautam Gambhir say about MS Dhoni?
Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a brilliant knock of 91 runs off 79 deliveries in the 2011 World Cup Final as India chased down Sri Lanka's total of 274 with 10 balls to spare.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been named as the Man of the Match in the #cwc2011 final
— ICC (@ICC) April 2, 2011
Gambhir, who scored 97 runs in that match, highlighted that India's World Cup triumph shouldn't be exclusively attributed to Dhoni's innings. He also criticized the role of social media in perpetuating this perception, terming it ‘biased' while tackling topics of such nature.
“While we celebrate MS Dhoni's innings in the final, we should celebrate these other efforts as much. No one innings could win India the trophy. It was a collective effort, and should be celebrated as such,” he added.
“It is because of social media that we don't do it. Social media is biased and we all know that. But social media doesn't make it the truth.”
“There is always a tendency on social media to celebrate individuals more than the team. In doing so, what happens is we don't celebrate key performers who had as much a part to play. And that's an issue for sure. All I will say is we should celebrate the entire team.
“While we celebrate Dhoni, we should also celebrate the others who all played very important roles in the Indian win.”
