"No point in scoring runs that just go in your records" - When Gautam Gambhir advised Indian batters to adopt a selfless approach

The term 'selfless' became synonymous with Rohit Sharma for the manner in which he batted in the 2023 World Cup, but it was Gautam Gambhir who advocated the approach a year before the ICC event.

While the Men in Blue ended up losing the 2023 ODI World Cup final, going down to Australia, they played some terrific cricket in the tournament held at home. In fact, they were unbeaten heading into the summit clash against Australia at the Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad.

India were led admirably by Rohit, who got the team off to blazing starts, often sacrificing his wicket in the process. The refreshing approach was in stark contrast to the 2022 T20 World Cup, when players held themselves back and India ended up getting hammered by 10 wickets in the semifinal against England in Adelaide.

Incidentally, speaking ahead of the ICC event, former India cricketer Gambhir had advised the batters to adopt a selfless approach, ignoring records and stats.

"The mindset of scoring runs, and effective ones, with the help of which your team wins. No point in scoring runs that just go in your records or fifties or hundreds. Even if you make 40 or even 20, make it at such a rate that it helps your team post 170-180. And if you're chasing, make sure that it takes the pressure off your middle order," he had commented.

"When you go in such tournaments, you have to keep your personal records at home. Individual records don't matter in such tournaments. Even if you score 200 runs in the tournament and your team wins, that will be your legacy. But if you score 500 runs and the team gets knocked out, then those runs are of no use," Gambhir had added.

Virat Kohli was India's leading run-getter in the 2022 T20 World Cup, scoring 296 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 136.40. Suryakumar Yadav also contributed 239 at a strike rate of 189.68. India, however, posted a below par 168-6 in the semifinal against England, a total that was gunned down in 16 overs.

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Gautam Gambhir took over as head coach from Rahul Dravid after India's 2024 T20 World Cup triumph

India's 11-year ICC title drought ended when they won the 2024 T20 World Cup held in the West Indies and the USA, beating South Africa in a tense final in Barbados. The Men in Blue batted in a selfless manner during the tournament, as advocated by Gambhir a couple of years ago.

Incidentally, the former India opener replaced Rahul Dravid as national head coach after the latter's tenure ended following the Men in Blue's triumph in the ICC event.