B737 Captain reported as they pulled into the gate; ground personnel stated the right main landing gear fire resulted in an evacuation and a critical equipment problem.

Narrative

After an unremarkable departure; climb; and cruise out of ZZZ1 we prepared for arrival and landing in ZZZ. I was the PF while the FO was PM. The winds were approximately 190 @18g27 and we were set up for runway XXR in ZZZ. I elected to do a flaps 30 landing due to the wind gusts with autobrakes set to 3. The landing was a normal crosswind landing. The touchdown was relatively smooth followed by a normal deceleration rate. I used max reverse thrust until 80 knots. I disengaged the autobrakes sometime shortly after 80 knots. I exited the runway at Taxiway 1 and tower instructed us to taxi via Taxiway 2 toward our gate XX.When we entered the ramp I noticed and remarked to my FO that the airplane was seeming sluggish on the taxi. The brakes were not 'chattering' as is common on the 737 with hot brakes. I had no indication or feedback that the brakes were hot. At that point there was no noticeable assymetrical pulling to the left or right on taxi. As we made our way into the gate and I applied brakes and at that point the airplane drifted to the right. I commented that something was wrong and my FO agreed. Once we stopped the plane was listing to the right. The ramp crew were pointing at our right landing gear and yelling at us that the gear was on fire. The FO opened his window open and we could very clearly hear them. I said that I wanted to do a rapid deplaning and he agreed. The rapid deplaning is described in FOM and I thought that it was the appropriate level of response in this scenario with the information that we had at the time. I made an announcement to the passengers briefly describing the situation and I told them that we needed to rapidly deplane through the forward left boarding door and to leave all of their belongings on board. I then opened the cockpit door and reiterated this to the flight attendant. As passengers started to deplane the FO and I discussed and I said to call ops or ramp to get CFR (Crash Fire Rescue) to our gate.At that point I didn't see anything else I could've done in the flight deck so I stood near the cockpit door and galley area to assist as needed with the deplaning. Once the flight attendants deplaned I walked to the back of the aircraft and made sure nobody was left on board. Maintenance and the fire department were at the airplane. The fire department scanned the cabin and cockpit for smoke and did not detect any. Maintenance personnel and the fire department told me that there were no signs of flame or fire but that the tire had likely been smoking. The FO and I never saw smoke or fire but we definitely smelled hot brakes and what I would describe as a burnt rubber smell during the event. Once it was determined safe by the fire department and maintenance the passengers were allowed back down the jetbridge to retrieve their luggage.