Gautam Gambhir, one of the greatest Indian opening batsmen of all time, celebrates his 42nd birthday today on October 14. Known for his aggressive batting style and his ability to perform under pressure, Gambhir played a crucial role in India’s success in several major tournaments, including the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
He made his international debut in 2003 and went on to play 58 Tests, 147 ODIs, and 37 T20Is for India. He scored over 10,000 runs in both Tests and ODIs, and he was the highest run-scorer for India in both the 2007 T20 World Cup final and the 2011 Cricket World Cup final.
In addition to his batting prowess, Gambhir was also a brilliant fielder and a capable captain. He led Kolkata Knight Riders to two Indian Premier League titles in 2012 and 2014.
Gambhir retired from all forms of cricket in 2018. He is currently a member of the Parliament and a cricket commentator.
Gambhir is known for his straightforward talk and sometimes controversial remarks. Over the years a few of his comments on legendary Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has led to chatter on social media. Here we take a look at the few instances Gautam Gambhir spoke about MS Dhoni:
“I’ll be the first one standing next to him”
Gambhir finally cleared the air over his equation with MS Dhoni in a conversation with Jatin Sapru on his YouTube channel.’ He said all the rumours of his supposed dislike for MS Dhoni are baseless. He went on to say that he has always held Dhoni in high regard and has deep respect for his contributions to Indian cricket. Gambhir added that if Dhoni were ever in need, he would be the first person to stand by the wicketkeeper-batter.
“I’ve said it on air, I’ll say it on your channel, I can say it anywhere in front of 138 crore people, that if ever in need, I hope he’s never in need, but if ever in need in life, I’ll be the first one standing next to him because of what he’s done for Indian cricket, what he’s as a human being,” Gambhir said.
“Broken all records if Dhoni batted at 3”
As per Gambhir, had Dhoni persisted in batting at number 3 for India, where he maintained an impressive average of 82.9 and amassed 993 runs in only 16 innings, he would have established himself as one of the best ever in ODI cricket.
Gambhir said, “Had he batted at No. 3, he would’ve broken all the records. We talk about some of the greats; he would’ve broken everything in white-ball cricket.”
Gambhir called Dhoni’s rotation policy “crap”
Gambhir was critical of MS Dhoni’s rotation policy that was implemented during the CB series in Australia in 2012. At that time, Dhoni, who was the captain of the Indian team, had explained that it was not feasible to have Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gambhir all playing in the same lineup.
Speaking about this strategy, Gambhir said, “I believe that one should follow the captain’s decision but it was complete crap. You started with the rotation policy but played all three in the must-win games. If you make a decision, back your decision, stick to it.”
“No captain would be able to win three ICC trophies”
Back in 2021, Gautam Gambhir was all praise for MS Dhoni’s leadership, especially following India’s disappointing performance in the ICC T20 World Cup. Gambhir said that winning championships was an exceptionally challenging task and Dhoni had won three with the Indian team.
In a conversation with Star Sports, Gambhir said, “Someone will come and probably score more double 100s than Rohit Sharma and more 100s than Virat Kohli, but I don’t think any Indian captain would be able to achieve three ICC trophies.”
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