Former India head coach Rahul Dravid has pushed back against the notion that Indian cricket should move away from star-driven narratives, saying every sport needs heroes and that individual excellence often translates into collective success. The comments came in response to Gautam Gambhir\u2019s recurring view that the spotlight should shift away from standout individuals and toward team outcomes.<\/p>\n
Dravid argued that players earn legendary status only through sustained performance and match-winning contributions. He noted that in a cricket-mad country like India, athletes face intense attention\u2014both praise and criticism\u2014and that enduring greatness is usually the result of consistently delivering on the field.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the Scoop podcast, Dravid said, \u201cAny sport needs its heroes, and I don\u2019t think people become heroes without performances. You can\u2019t capture the imagination of a nation if you don\u2019t 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\u2019s a lot of scrutiny and constant focus on you. So to become a legend or a superstar in India means you\u2019ve done a lot of things right, and in the process, you\u2019ve also helped your team win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reflecting on his playing era alongside Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag, Dravid said Indian cricket reached new heights during that time, with multiple star performers operating within the same side.<\/p>\n
Dravid then addressed India\u2019s more recent challenges in Test cricket during Gambhir\u2019s tenure. He said it would not be straightforward to fill the gaps left by players who have recently retired, including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin.<\/p>\n
While acknowledging the difficulty of replacement at that level, Dravid expressed confidence that India\u2019s Test mindset can return and that the team will remain competitive across formats. He added that a turnaround may take time, but recovery is achievable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe passion to do well in red-ball cricket is definitely there. We\u2019ve had a couple of series where we haven\u2019t 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 \u2013 Rohit, Virat and Ashwin \u2013 and it is not easy to replace players like that. 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,\u201d Dravid said.<\/p>\n
Dravid also pointed to the modern scheduling demands as a major factor behind how hard it is for players to balance formats. He said red-ball cricket is still highly valued by those who want to succeed there, but the sheer volume of white-ball matches makes it tougher to prepare properly for Tests.<\/p>\n
He explained that while players understand the importance of the longest format and feel personal satisfaction when they succeed in it, they often have less time to build the specific preparation that was available during his generation.<\/p>\n
\u201cRed-ball cricket is still very important. There are still players who want to play red-ball cricket. Among players, there is a strong sense that it is probably the toughest format of the game and something that brings a lot of personal satisfaction when you succeed in it. But there is also a lot of white-ball cricket being played, and we have to be realistic about that. Many of these players today are having to juggle multiple formats, and it is not always easy because they may not get as much time to prepare for red-ball cricket as my generation did. We effectively had fewer formats, and when I think about the preparation that went into some of the Test series I played, I feel the current players, not because they don\u2019t want to, but because of the volume of cricket, are sometimes unable to find that same balance.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former India head coach Rahul Dravid has pushed back against the notion that Indian cricket should move away from star-driven narratives, saying every sport needs…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":10286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Rahul Dravid vs Gambhir: IPL Star Culture Debate","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Rahul Dravid counters Gautam Gambhir\u2019s \u201cstar culture\u201d claim, stressing heroes still matter in cricket\u2014and how individual brilliance fuels team success.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n