“These traditions existed earlier as well, people did not know about it” - Gautam Gambhir on Team India’s “Fielder of the Match” ceremony

Former Team India opener Gautam Gambhir has revealed that there is nothing new or unique about the Men in Blue’s “Fielder of the Match” ceremony in the dressing room. He stated that such traditions of rewarding players existed earlier as well, but fans were not aware of it since social media was not as prominent back then.

India have had an exceptional run in the 2023 World Cup, winning all of their eight league matches so far. In fact, the hosts are the only side to have not lost a single match in the tournament so far.

The “Fielder of the Match” medal presentation in the Indian dressing room has caught the imagination of fans and experts. A lot of them have praised the leadership group over the camaraderie in the current squad.

In a Q&A session on Sportskeeda’s YouTube channel, Gambhir was asked for his thoughts on the “Fielder of the Match” presentation. Downplaying the hype, he replied:

“These traditions existed earlier as well. Because of social media, you get to watch a lot of content these days - what is happening in the dressing room, what kind of celebrations are taking place. This was not the case earlier because so much content was not available on digital media. During our times as well, the best fielders used to get medals and were rewarded. The best bowler and Player of the Match was also rewarded.

“All these things used to happen earlier as well. But because stuff never came out, people did not know about it. Today, things are out in the open. Earlier, a lot of things were confidential. In the IPL as well it happens, where the Player of the Match is different from the dressing room’s Man of the Match. These things are very normal and common,” Gambhir continued.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma was the recipient of the best fielder award for his impressive effort in the match against South Africa in Kolkata.

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“Commentators wouldn’t decide who the Man of the Match is” - Gambhir on his philosophy as captain

Gambhir led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to two IPL trophies in 2012 and 2014 and is regarded as one of the better captains in the T20 league.

Asked if he followed any particular tradition as a leader, Gambhir revealed that he did not believe in commentators deciding the Player of the Match.

“As a captain, the tradition I followed was that commentators wouldn’t decide who the Man of the Match is. It should not be their responsibility. We, as a team, decided who created the most impact,” he stated.

“A lot of times the most underrated performer, who has given 10-12 runs in four overs, but has not taken a wicket, is not talked about. Someone scored 15 in 5 or six or one ball - people do not talk about them. What was important was who we felt was the Man of the Match and not the commentators,” the former India opener elaborated.

Gambhir played 242 international matches, scoring 10324 runs, with 20 hundreds and 63 fifties.