The Men in Blue’s “Fielder of the Match” ceremony in the dressing room is neither special or novel, according to former Team India opener Gautam Gambhir. He claimed that these athlete appreciation customs had existed in the past as well, but fans were unaware of them since social media had not yet gained widespread popularity.
India has won all eight of their league games thus far in the 2023 World Cup, demonstrating an amazing record. As a matter of fact, the hosts are the only team left in the competition with no losses.
Fans and experts alike are fascinated by the “Fielder of the Match” award ceremony that takes place in the Indian changing room. Many of them have given the leadership group more credit than the present squad’s togetherness.
Gautam Gambhir was asked about his opinions about the “Fielder of the Match” presentation during a Q&A session on Sportskeeda’s YouTube channel. Playing down the excitement, he retorted:
“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.”
Gautam Gambhir
The best fielder award went to Indian skipper Rohit Sharma for his outstanding performance in the Kolkata match against South Africa.
Commentators wouldn’t decide who the Man of the Match is” – Gautam Gambhir reveals his captaincy philosophy
Gautam Gambhir is considered as one of the finest T20 league leaders and captained Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to two IPL trophies in 2012 and 2014. When asked if he adhered to any specific customs as captain, Gambhir said he didn’t think the Player of the Match was chosen by pundits.
“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.”
“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.
Gautam Gambhir
In 242 international matches, the 42-year-old Gambhir amassed 10324 runs, 20 hundreds, and 63 fifties.