For a while now, it’s been perceived in the social media that Gautam Gambhir has some gripe against MS Dhoni. It pops up every time Gambhir says something about the 2011 world cup – how all the attention has gone on one man (read MS Dhoni), and the contributions of the likes of Yuvraj Singh has gone unnoticed. He would also say in the past how the captain is as good as the team of players. Despite the fact that he has reiterated it many times even during his successful reign as captain for KKR in the IPL, the interpretation has been that he is having a go at MS Dhoni.
Now, Gambhir has come out with a comment naming Dhoni and how it was a “blessing” to have Dhoni in the team.
“MS (Dhoni) was the first wicketkeeper of India who could change the game with his batting. Earlier, they were keepers first and batters later, but MS was batter first and then was a wicketkeeper,” Gambhir said in a show on Star Sports.
“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,” said Gambhir.
MS Dhoni finished his ODI career with 10,773 runs with 10 centuries and 73 fifties to his name. But Gambhir feels Dhoni could have scored much more if he had batted at No 3.
Gambhir also spoke about how Dhoni was selfless as captain, putting the team ahead of himself.
“If MS would have batted at No 3, I am sure he could have broken several ODI records.
“People always talk about MS Dhoni and his achievements as a captain, which is absolutely true. But I feel due to captaincy, he sacrificed the batter in him, and he could have achieved much more with his bat which he didn’t. And this happens when you are a captain because then you put the team ahead, and you forget about yourself.
“He started batting at No 6 or 7. If he had not been captain, he would have been India’s No 3, and I think he could have scored more than what he has scored and could have scored more hundreds also.
“People always see MS with the trophies but in my opinion, he sacrificed his international runs for the team’s trophies,” said Gambhir.
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
