Former India opener Gautam Gambhir is known to be someone who doesn't hold back while speaking his mind. When asked to weigh in on team India's memorable 2011 World Cup campaign, the former India captain reminded everyone how 'not just MS Dhoni' but Zaheer Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel and others were crucial to the Men in Blue lifting the coveted title.
On scoring a match-defining 97 in the 2011 World Cup final, Gambhir said he isn't bothered whether his herioics are celebrated or remembered as what matters is that team India won the ODI WC title after 1983.
"It just doesn't matter if I go the hundred or not. All that matters is if India wins the World Cup. We don't play an individual sport. It is a team sport and individual achievements are only important if they come of use to the team. This innings is far more important to me because it helped India win the final," Gautam Gambhir told Revsportz.
Do we celebrate Yuvraj Singh enough?
"Do we celebrate Yuvraj Singh enough for what he did in the 2011 World Cup with all the health concerns he had? Do we celebrate Zaheer Khan opening spell enough? To start off a World Cup final with 4 maiden overs is incredible and yet he isn't given enough credit. We haven't credited Yuvraj enough for the 2011 World Cup. Do we celebrate Sachin Tendulkar's efforts enough? Yes, we celebrate him and the win but how many remember he was the highest scorer in the World Cup with two hundreds to his name?" Gambhir said.
Gambhir said that in India fans are obsessed with individual milestones, but the ultimate goal is how the team has done.
"I will tell you one thing straight. If I got out for a low score and India won I would be as happy. But If I got the 100 and India lost, the 100 would be of no value whatsoever to me. We are far too obsessed with individual milestones in India and in doing so the focus on occasions moves from the larger goal. The bigger picture of how your team has done is lost on occasions. That's ;s the only thing that is important in team sport," the former India opener added.