MS Dhoni "Sacrificed The Batter In Him, So That...": Gautam Gambhir On India Great's Impact

19.09.2023 - 09:23 sports.ndtv.com

Former India skipper MS Dhoni is undoubtedly one of the most loved sportspersons in the world. Over the years, Dhoni has earned a large fan following, not only in the form of common people but also many formers and current cricketers.

However, Dhoni's camaraderie with former India batter Gautam Gambhir always grabs a lot of attention. On many occasions, the former Kolkata Knight Riders skipper has raised questions on media for only glorying the captain's role in India's 2011 World Cup victory and not giving credit to the entire team.

However, Gambhir, in a recent interaction on Star Sports, spoke about how Dhoni "sacrified" his batting position for the sake of the team, otherwise he would have been India's No 3. "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. 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.

cricket India Cricket Team MS Dhoni on impact Gautam Gambhir Star Sports India

Former Indian cricket team batter Gautam Gambhir is no stranger to controversies as he is regularly featured in news - either for his achievements or for his blunt comments. The left-handed batter played a massive role in guiding India to the 2007 and 2011 World Cup victories and he has also won two Indian Premier League (IPL) titles with Kolkata Knight Riders as skipper. Ravichandran Ashwin believes that Gambhir is sometimes mistaken by the fans and experts but he is actually one of the most selfless cricketers he has seen. Ashwin event went on to call him the "most misunderstood cricketer in India".

Gautam Gambhir's Bold Babar Azam Prediction For World Cup Is Warning For All Other Teams

The Cricket World Cup 2023 is only days away from its commencement, with 10 teams vying against each other to get their hands on the elusive trophy. In the batting department, the ODI World Cup is set to see some of the finest talents in the world looking to undo each other. The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Steve Smith, David Warner, Jos Buttler, Babar Azam, etc. will all look to make the best use of the conditions in India and take their team to glory. Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir, who won the 2011 World Cup under the captaincy of MS Dhoni, has his eyes on Rohit and Babar to do something special this year.

On Kapil Dev's Viral 'Kidnapping' Video, Gautam Gambhir Lifts The Lid

After a recent video of India's World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev being handcuffed emerged on social media, former cricketer Gautam Gambhir had raised concerns over the well being of the latter. In the video, Dev was being forcibly led into a room by two unidentified men. Netizens, including Gambhir, questioned the nature of this video as to whether it is a genuine footage or could it be an elaborate advertising stunt? However, Gambhir took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to reveal the context behind the video.

ODI World Cup: Gautam Gambhir Warns India Against Suryakumar Yadav Gamble

India's squad for the ODI World Cup is set, with underfire players like KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav also fetching a spot each. While both batters have gone on to record impressive performances in recent outings, former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir isn't fancying Surya's inclusion in the ODI playing XI for the World Cup. Gambhir doesn't fancy frequent changes in the team and believes the playing XI should be settled almost for the entire World Cup. He also cited the example of India's 2011 World Cup-winning squad to prove his point.

"There Are Very Few Like You": Gautam Gambhir's Special Birthday Wish For Naveen-ul-Haq

Former India batter Gautam Gambhir and Afghanistan's star pacer Naveen-ul-Haq share a good bond with each other, thanks to Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. While Gambhir was the mentor of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Naveen was the player bought by the franchise ahead of the season. LSG paid an amount of Rs 50 lakh to secure the services of the bowling sensational from Afghanistan. During Naveen's face-off with Virat Kohli in IPL 2023 too, Gambhir took a stand for his player.

"You Have Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, David Warner But...": Gautam Gambhir Picks Pakistan Star As One Who Can Set Cricket World Cup 'On Fire'

Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir has picked Pakistan captain Babar Azam to be the standout batter at the upcoming Cricket World Cup in India. Babar has been in fine form with the bat in 2023, smashing eight 50+ scores in 15 innings. However, the 29-year-old had a below par outing with the bat in the Asia Cup as Pakistan failed to reach the final. On being asked to pick one batter he'll be watching closely at the Cricket World Cup, Gambhir picked Babar ahead of the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, David Warner, among others.