Former India player Gautam Gambhir has opined that sub-continent cricket teams can do well on the big stage only if they do away with their stats-related obsession. Praising Indian captain Rohit Sharma’s approach during the 2023 World Cup, Gambhir said that he too could have scored a few hundreds, but batted for the team as well. However, the 2023 World Cup saw many batters smashing hundreds.
While South Africa’s Quinton de Kock hit four tons, Virat Kohli and Rachin Ravindra hit three each. Rohit hit only one hundred along with three fifties. Yet, he finished as the second-highest run-getter in the 2023 World Cup, smashing 597 runs at a strike rate of 125.95 as well. During a discussion with Sportskeeda, Gautam Gambhir opened up on why Asian sides like India and Pakistan need to start looking beyond numbers in cricket as well.
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“Hundreds don’t matter, Rohit Sharma’s approach matters. Rohit Sharma could have also scored four hundreds in the World Cup. It’s not difficult to score hundreds in one-day cricket. Quinton de Kock also made four. Unless sub-continent teams move away from their obsession for stats, our results will not be of the desired level. It is as a nation that we have to change. If Jasprit Bumrah takes five wickets, he becomes a great bowler. If someone takes two, then he is not. It’s important to be a good bowler. Those two wickets were crucial,” Gambhir added.
However, Virat Kohli (765 runs) was the highest run-getter in the 2023 World Cup, while Mohammed Shami (24 wickets) was the leading wicket-taker. Team India could not lift the trophy, losing to Australia in the final. During the interaction, Gautam Gambhir also lashed out at people’s obsession with terming young players who perform well as captaincy material and commented on how many next captains India have made over the last few years.
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“If any young player scores a hundred, he is touted as the next captain. In the last four years, I don’t know how many next captains we have made. If Shubman Gill does well in one game, he’s the next India captain, if Shreyas Iyer scores a hundred, he’s the next India captain. Same when Rishabh Pant was doing well,” Gautam Gambhir concluded. “Captaincy is not important, winning the match for the county is important. Captaincy is just a responsibility. There is this race for the next captain. Rohit Sharma has not won the World Cup, so who is the next captain? You will make someone else leader, if he doesn’t win, then again the same question – who is next.”
