Gautam Gambhir‘s fighting 97 off 122 balls in the final and ‘Player of the Tournament’ Yuvraj Singh‘s exceptional all-round performance throughout the World Cup stand out in the highlights of India’s triumphant campaign to become the ODI champions again after 1983.
Acknowledging Yuvraj’s invaluable contribution in the 2011 edition, Gambhir, known for his outspoken nature, lauded the all-rounder’s role, which he feels has been underplayed.
“You know it. You tell me, a player who won the ‘Man of the Tournament’ of 2011 World Cup, how many people talk about him? Probably because he doesn’t have a good PR agency,” Gambhir said on an ANI podcast.
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Yuvraj was adjudged Man of the Series for scoring 362 runs and bagging 15 wickets in India’s title win in 2011.
On being asked if his own innings during the 2011 World Cup final was overshadowed by Dhoni’s innings, Gambhir replied: “When people talk about being ‘underrated’, these are the same people who undervalue, under-show and under-appreciate. Nothing is underrated.”
Gambhir then went on to add that even the broadcast needs to be fair and not focus on particular players.
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“A broadcaster can never be a PR machinery,” added Gambhir, talking about TV shows focusing on a few select players in their scripts during live broadcast.
“The broadcaster needs to be fair to everyone sitting in that dressing room,” he said. “If I have a machine and need to select two individuals within a three-hour timeframe, allocating 2 hours and 50 minutes to showcase one person and only 10 minutes to highlight the other, the individual showcased for 2 hours and 50 minutes naturally evolves into a brand,” Gambhir said, without taking any names.
