3 strong statements made by Gautam Gambhir in his recent TV interview

Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir came out with all guns firing at India's cricketing ecosystem on Sunday. He took potshots at former teammates and international players, the fans for their alleged "individualism", and even media, PR, and marketing companies, blaming all of it for the men's team's recent failures.

The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) mentor's interview was released when fans had already turned their backs on Rohit Sharma and Co. for losing a second consecutive World Test Championship (WTC) final.

The 209-run defeat to Australia at the Oval marked almost a decade since India last won an ICC title - the 2013 Champions Trophy by beating England in Birmingham.

Following are the three strongest-worded statements from the interview:

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India hasn't won an ICC trophy for so long because we are "individual-obsessed" - Gautam Gambhir

Perhaps the most consequential statement was about his explanation of why India hasn't won an ICC trophy since 2013.

Signifying it as an unspoken truth, he called India an "individual-obsessed country" where no one puts the team first and the entire ecosystem works like a PR agency for a few players.

"A lot of people won't say this but this is the truth and I think I should say this because it should come in front of the world: our country is not a team-obsessed country but an individual-obsessed country," Gambhir told News18

"We consider individuals bigger than the team. In other countries, in England, Australia and New Zealand, the team is bigger than the individual. All the stakeholders in Indian cricket, from the broadcaster and the media to everyone: all of them have been reduced to a PR agency. If the broadcasters won't give you the credit, you'll always be underrated. This is the biggest truth. This is why we haven't won an ICC tournament for so long because we are so obsessed with individuals," he added.

By a few individuals, he was likely pointing at the trio of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma, the most-followed cricketers in the country who hog most of the praise and criticism depending on the result of their respective teams.

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"PR and marketing portrays one individual as the biggest and everyone else small" - Gautam Gambhir

Gambhir also alleged that PR and marketing agencies working with players and teams greatly impact cricket narratives.

He said although India's wins in the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 World Cup were team efforts, members like Yuvraj Singh don't get enough credit because "one individual" is portrayed as the biggest.

"He (Yuvraj) always says I won the World Cup but I believe that the man who took us to the finals of the 2011 and 2007 World Cups was Yuvraj Singh, I think he was the man of the tournament in both tournaments," Gambhir, who scored a crucial 97 in the 2011 World Cup final, said.

"I am not sure (though Yuvraj did win the award in 2011, Shahid Afridi was the Man of the Tournament in the 2007 T20 World Cup). But it's unfortunate that when we talk about the 2007 and 2011 World Cups, we don't take Yuvraj Singh's name. Why not? It's only and only marketing and PR and portraying one individual as the biggest and everyone else as smaller than him," he added.

"No one is underrated, it's all PR and marketing. We have been told who won us the 2007 and 2011 World Cups [but] it was not one individual it was the entire team. No one individual can win a big tournament. If that was the case, India would've had 5-10 World Cups," he concluded.

Though he didn't name nor directly blame him, "one individual" is a thinly veiled jibe at MS Dhoni's popularity. Gambhir has often called out Indian fans for being "obsessed" with Dhoni's winning six at the Wankhede Stadium in 2011.

The former left-handed batter also drew parallels with India's win in the 1983 World Cup under Kapil Dev. He said though always the skipper's trophy-lifting photo is shown everywhere whenever the tournament's talked about, Mohinder Amarnath, who was the Player of the Match in the semi-final and the final, has been forgotten.

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"Disgusting and disappointing are the two words I have" - Gautam Gambhir on cricketers doing ads for pan masala brands

Gambhir also hit out at former teammate Virender Sehwag and batting legend Sunil Gavaskar for their endorsement of a pan masala (a cheap but cancer-causing mixture of betel nut, lime, catechu, and flavoring agents) brand during IPL 2023.

He called it disgusting and disappointing and a failure as a role model.

"Disgusting and disappointing are the two words I have," the Memeber of Parliament said. "Disgusting because I never thought that a player would do a pan masala ad. Disappointing because I repeat only one thing… Select your role model wisely. Name is not important but the work is. You are recognised because of your work and not because of your name.

"Money is not that important for which you end up doing a pan masala ad. There are many ways to earn money. If you have to leave some money, then you should have the courage as you are the role model of the youths."

Gambhir also gave the example of Sachin Tendulkar, saying he rejected a multi-crore deal because he had promised his late father that he'd never promote tobacco or pan masala.