"Kohli Scores 100 And...": Gambhir On "Hero Worship" In Indian Cricket

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir, who played a pivotal role in India's triumphs at the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ICC World Cup, has opened up on the problem of "hero worship" in Indian cricket. During a conversation with The Indian Express, where he was asked about the topic, Gambhir gave examples of Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar from the match against Afghanistan in the recently concluded Asia Cup.

The match Gambhir was referring to was a dead rubber as both Sri Lanka and Pakustan had already cemented their respective spots in the final. India recorded a huge win in the match with Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar  headlining the win.

Kohli scored his maiden T20I century, which also was his first in international cricket in close to three years. The knock was hailed by everyone and as a result, Bhuvneshwar Kumar's five-wicket haul went completely unnoticed.

Gambhir said the culture of "hero worship"  leads to these problems.

“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.

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