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Former India batter Gautam Gambhir has spoken about "obsession" with cricket statistics in the country and said that there is a need to reduce emphasis on it "to get results".
In 'ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash', Gambhir said that the problem lies when a player's performance is under-shown and under-valued. Gambhir talked about his 97-run knock against Sri Lanka in the 2011 ODI World Cup final and said people who describe it 'underrated' do not appreciate its value. "People who say it was an underrated knock are the people who underappreciate. Nothing is underrated, it is under-shown and undervalued, and that is where the problem lies. The country is obsessed with stats. Till the time you let go of the obsession with stats, till then you won't get results," Gambhir said. "It's been a long time since India won a World Cup and the bitter truth is our media and importantly, social media, if they become PR machinery for certain individuals, then you will never get the result. Every member of the squad works hard to represent India, and if a broadcaster becomes a PR machinery of 1-2 players, then the other members of the squad won't be able to speak out openly," he added. Gambhir said all players should get credit for their achievements. "They (the broadcasters) need to be fair to everyone sitting in that dressing room cause everyone works hard. They need to value equally and not only one or two individuals. Social media decides who should get credits or not and this is not right," he said. Gambhir said he was happy that India is becoming a bowling-obsessed nation after the recent World Cup. "If today I have machinery and I have to pick two persons where I show one person for two hours and fifty minutes and the other person for 10 minutes only, then a person shown for 2 hours and 50 minutes will become a brand. Then don't say that we do not get numbers when we show the other guy because the other guy is not a brand. When you did not show the other person, you did not value the other person. Unless you do not value the other person, he won't value himself and how will the country value him. In this World Cup, one good thing happened and I am pleased about it that we became a bowling-obsessed nation from batting one. Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj are getting appreciated for their hard work," he said. (ANI)
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