In an interview with The Scoop, former India captain and coach Rahul Dravid opened up on the superstar culture in Indian cricket.
"You can’t capture the imagination of a nation if you don’t put in the performances, especially in India"
Gautam Gambhir, India men’s current head coach, has often talked about promoting the culture of celebrating trophies over celebrating individual milestones and stressed that his job was to create a “super team” but “media wants to create superstars” after leading the team to the T20 World Cup earlier this year.
Rahul Dravid, his predecessor at the role, spoke on the changing culture: “In a lot of ways, India, [in] any sport, needs its heroes as well, and I don’t think people become heroes without performances. You can’t capture the imagination of a nation if you don’t put in the performances, especially in India, where you get a lot of praise for what you do, but you also get a lot of brickbats. There’s a lot of scrutiny. There’s a lot of focus on you as well.
“So to be able to become a legend, or to be able to become a superstar in India, means you’ve done a lot of things right, and through that, you’ve obviously helped your team win as well.”
Without Indian subcontinent fans, the world game wouldn’t be where it is: Rahul Dravid
Dravid also touched upon India’s recent uptick in ICC trophies, with three wins since 2024. “I think India has become a lot more successful, especially in red-ball cricket over the last 10-15 years,” he said. “After the 2011 World Cup, we might not have won a lot of ICC trophies, which we’ve won over the last few years, but certainly always been in the top two or three teams and semi-finals or finals of a lot of the ICC tournaments. So there’s that expectation.”
On the ever-increasing expectations from the fans in India, Dravid added: “I think there’s that huge expectation now in India that every time India plays, the team has got to do well, and the team has got to win, which I think is fantastic. I think we’ve got some of the greatest fans in the world and people who love and support the game. And I think without the Indian and Indian subcontinent fans, to be very honest, the world game wouldn’t be where it is, you know.
“[I am] really happy for them that we are beginning to see the kind of success that I think was always there, and there has been so much work and planning and effort and funds and resources that have gone behind creating this successful team. And you know, and I think it’s really good to see.”
