"Any Sport Needs Its Heroes" — Rahul Dravid corrects Gautam Gambhir's superstar culture in Indian cricket

Rahul Dravid recently gave his views on superstar culture in Indian cricket and it is at variance from the current India head coach Gautam Gambhir. While Gambhir has regularly stated that individual praise should never be greater than the team, Dravid believes every sport needs heroes and superstars. According to Dravid, such players inspire young cricketers and help the game grow.

Dravid said becoming a superstar in Indian cricket is not easy because players face pressure, criticism, and constant public attention. He explained that players become legends only after performing consistently and helping their team win matches. His comments on the Wisden ‘Scoop’ podcast quickly became a big topic among cricket fans.

Dravid breaks his silence on Gambhir's superstar culture debate — And he doesn't hold back

Dravid openly supported the idea of having heroes in sport and explained why they are important. He said fans connect emotionally with players who perform under pressure and deliver for the country. According to him, such players inspire future generations to take up the sport seriously.

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At the same time, Gautam Gambhir has regularly spoken against superstar culture in Indian cricket. Gambhir believes cricket is a team game and too much focus on individuals is not healthy for the team environment. Even though both legends have different opinions, both want Indian cricket to continue succeeding.

'You Can't Capture a Nation Without Performances' — Dravid's blunt message on what it takes to be a true cricket hero

Speaking on a podcast the former India coach reflected that any sport in the world needs heroes and at the same time he also pointed out that these players do not become heroes just like that, there's a truckload of performances which they do day in and day out.

“Any sport needs its heroes, and I don't think people become heroes without performances. You can't capture the imagination of a nation if you don't deliver on the field, especially in India, where you get a lot of praise for what you do, but also a lot of brickbats. There's a lot of scrutiny and constant focus on you. So to become a legend or a superstar in India means you've done a lot of things right, and in the process, you've also helped your team win,” the former India skipper said. 

Dravid also spoke about India’s recent performances in Test cricket under Gambhir. He said, “The passion to do well in red-ball cricket is definitely there. We've had a couple of series where we haven't performed as well as an Indian team, and that can happen. We are also missing a few key players, with some of the big names having recently retired - Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ashwin - and it is not easy to replace players like that.”

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He further added, “But Indian cricket remains very strong. I still believe the Indian team will be competitive in every format it plays. It may take a little time, but hopefully this season we will be able to turn things around.” Dravid also explained that modern players struggle to balance formats because of the huge amount of cricket being played today.

What is superstar culture in cricket and why is Gautam Gambhir so against It?

Superstar culture in cricket is the culture of status and visibility given to the star players of the team based on their performances and popularity. According to Rahul Dravid, such a player is necessary because they inspire fans and cricket grows in the country. He believes heroes are necessary in every sport.

However, Gautam Gambhir believes cricket should always remain bigger than individual players. He has often said that the team should get more importance than one superstar. This difference in opinion between Dravid and Gambhir has now created a fresh debate among Indian cricket fans.