Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has added that Team India’s obsession with statistics and milestones is among of the reasons why they failed to win ICC trophies for a decade. India last won an ICC trophy in the form of the 2013 Champions Trophy in England under MS Dhoni as well. Team India have arguably become one of the best sides since then across formats, making it to the knockout stages of ICC events on a consistent basis, but couldn’t win. In the recent past, they lost two successive World Test Championship (WTC) finals and lost in the semi-finals of the 2019 ODI World Cup and the 2022 T20 World Cup as well.
Gautam Gambhir said in an exclusive interaction with Sportskeeda: “If you score 30, 40 or even 140, what matters in the end is whether the team won or not. I think our obsession with stats is one of the biggest reasons why we have not won a ICC tournament in so many years. For me, it really does not matter whether you score a hundred or you score whatever you end up scoring, if the team ends up winning. If you are staying until the end to take the team to victory, that is all that matters. Let’s get done with his obsession over stats. Scoring a hundred does not matter, whether you can take your team to victory or not, that matters.”
Alongside KL Rahul, star batter Virat Kohli also missed out on a ton in their last game against Australia as he was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood for 85 but they guided Team India to a comfortable win after losing three quick wickets. However, there were a few players in the Indian squad who were playing their maiden ODI World Cup, including the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, and Ishan Kishan as well. However, Ishan Kishan is likely to get another game with first-choice option Shubman Gill ruled out of the upcoming clash against Afghanistan due to illness.
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Gambhir also stated: “It could be nerves. When you playing in the World Cup match against Australia, it is a big occasion for the youngsters. So, you have to give it to them, it is okay. It can happen to any player. When I went out to play my first World Cup match in Dhaka, I was nervous as well. The nerves settled after I played my first ball. So, I will not look too much into Kishan and Iyer’s performance. These two players have performed quite well, and that is why they are in the World Cup squad, and that is why they have a place in the playing XI. I believe that once the first run is scored or a good shot is played, things will get better.”
Gautam Gambhir has also stressed the significance of sleep for athletes. He added that great sleep facilitates muscle recovery and improves muscle strength as well. He has represented India in 58 Tests, 147 ODIs, and 37 T20Is as well. He was the top-scorer for the team in the 2007 T20 World Cup final and 2011 ODI World Cup final, both of which India won as well.
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“It is very important. Recovery is very important. Some people sleep for seven hours, some sleep for six hours. I believe that more than 8 hours of sleep, quality of sleep is more important. A lot of times, after a match, your adrenaline is so high that you can only get 4-5 hours of sound sleep. But sound sleep matters,” Gautam Gambhir concluded.
