Gautam Gambhir opened up about MS Dhoni’s contribution to Indian cricket both as a wicketkeeper-batter batter and captain.
How many times Gautam Gambhir has taken indirect digs at cricketers? How many times the ex-India opener has made headlines with his sensational remarks? Going by his own admission, the former India opener and two-time World Cup is well aware that his latest take on legendary cricketer MS Dhoni can spark a huge debate in the cricket spectrum. With India extending its dominance in Asia, the former Team India cricketer gave Dhoni a special mention while talking about the current roster of Indian players.
On Sunday, Rohit’s Team India hammered Dasun Shanaka’s Sri Lanka to win the Asia Cup for the record-extending eighth time. A fast-bowling masterclass from Mohammed Siraj made sure that Sri Lanka registered its second-lowest total of 50 in the summit clash. Indian skipper Rohit decided to promote wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan up the order as the youngster joined forces with an on-song Shubman Gill to seal a 10-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final.
Speaking to Star Sports during the coverage of the Asia Cup, Gambhir talked about Dhoni’s trophy-laden captaincy stint in international cricket. The Ranchi stalwart is the only skipper to win the ICC World T20 (2007), the ICC World Cup (2011) and the ICC Champions Trophy (2012). Besides leading the Indian team across all formats, Dhoni also topped the batting charts in his illustrious white-ball career. According to Gambhir, who shared the Indian locker room with Dhoni, the ex-India skipper would have batted at the No.3 position if he had not led the side back then.
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‘Because of captaincy, MS Dhoni couldn’t achieve what…’
“Because of captaincy, he couldn’t achieve what he could have achieved as a batter. A lot of times as captain you have to keep team first. If MS was not captain, he could have batted at No 3. I am sure he could have broken several ODI records. He has won a lot of trophies, but individually he sacrificed his international runs for trophies,” Gambhir said.
Former Indian opener Gambhir was an integral part of the Dhoni-led side that won the ICC World T20 in 2007 and the 50-over World Cup in 2011. The ex-India cricketer and full-time cricket pundit asserted that it was a blessing to have a player like Dhoni in the team. “Earlier, they were keepers first and batters later, but MS was batter first and then was a wicketkeeper. It was a blessing for Indian cricket that in MS Dhoni, we got a wicketkeeper-batter who can win you matches from No 7, because he had that power game,” Gambhir added.