"It is important to win ICC trophies..." Gautam Gambhir underlines what it takes to win big tournaments.🏏🌟🔊
🎥: Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)
🎥: Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)
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00:00If you've scored a 97 and haven't scored a 100, you're not successful.
00:04If you haven't taken a fifer, you're not successful.
00:06Hero worship is not important. Worshipping Indian cricket is more important.
00:10Whether it is Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli or MS Dhoni, that is what is unfortunate.
00:15And that is what needs to change if India needs to go on to win ICC trophies.
00:30Can you tell us who really stands out for you? One boy, one girl?
00:35You're asking a very, very unfair question.
00:38I think it's very unfair to ask me this question that I should be able to name one or two.
00:41I think everyone that represents the country is this poster boy,
00:45irrespective of whether they win medals or they don't.
00:48Because representing the country itself is a massive achievement.
00:52I know we always relate to the scores, the medals, the outputs, what he's done.
00:59Imagine the amount of hard work that goes behind representing your country,
01:02behind representing 140 crores Indians.
01:05So everyone is a poster boy and everyone should be a poster boy.
01:09Let's talk a little bit about cricket and the current Indian cricket team.
01:13Billions of dollars of investment in this country.
01:16We haven't really won an ICC trophy since 2013 or a World Cup since 2011.
01:23What is it that we are not doing right?
01:26Look, first of all, that's not the parameter to decide whether India is a successful cricketing
01:32nation. Yes, it is important to win ICC trophies. But more importantly, I think I had mentioned
01:39that in my first answer that our obsessions with numbers, we need to get rid of that.
01:45It's not the biggest contributions that will end up winning tournaments.
01:49It's those small contributions which we need to start appreciating.
01:54Big contributions only make headlines.
01:56It's those small contributions which will go on to win those big trophies.
02:01And no individual can do that.
02:03So for me, I think one thing that we've lacked is probably we've not created enough heroes.
02:11We've not given enough appreciation to small contributions.
02:16So whether it is, if you've scored a 97 and haven't scored a 100, you're not successful.
02:22If you haven't taken a FIFA, you're not successful.
02:25It's nothing to do with that.
02:27A wicket here and there is also equally important.
02:29Or a 10 ball 20 is equally important as well.
02:32But how many times, as I just mentioned, how many people remember Zaheer Khan in the 2011
02:37World Cup final? No one.
02:39And why shouldn't we?
02:40And why shouldn't we?
02:41Because five overs, four runs, that first spell was more important than someone scoring 97 or 91
02:47because he was the one who set the tone for us in that entire game.
02:51And I'm sure people in this room, no one remembers that spell.
02:54That is what is unfortunate.
02:56And that is what needs to change if India needs to go on to win ICC trophies.
03:00That is one thing I absolutely believe in.
03:02And I will continue to believe in that.
03:04That hero worship is not important.
03:07Worshiping Indian cricket is more important.
03:10The day we start worshiping Indian cricket or Indian sports,
03:13India will be on a completely different level.
03:15Ultimately, it really doesn't matter how many scores have you scored or how many wickets
03:19have you taken unless and until you don't go on to win the trophies.
03:21Because if you ask anyone, if you ask when someone comes to my place,
03:28obviously my wife has created this entire cabinet of my trophies,
03:32which sometimes can be very, very embarrassing for me because I've never been someone like that.
03:37So whenever someone comes, the only things they talk to me about are those two medals,
03:42which I had won those two World Cups.
03:44No one bothers about all those other trophies.
03:46And that is what is the legacy as well.
03:50That being part of that World Cup winning team.
03:53And I can assure you that whether it is Rohit Sharma now,
03:56or Virat Kohli, or MS Dhoni it was, or whoever is playing currently,
04:01if you ask them whether they want to be a man of the match or a man of the tournament
04:04of the World Cup final, or they want to be part of the World Cup winning team,
04:08they definitely would want to be part of the World Cup winning team.
04:10So there's no shortage of effort.