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There have often been reports of Gautam Gambhir not being a big fan of Indian cricket legend Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The former India opener has on numerous occasions questioned the significance attached to Dhoni's 2011 World Cup-winning six, claiming that doing so dilutes the effort of the other members of that squad.
At the same time, it's also true that Gambhir has openly lavished praise on Dhoni and his captaincy skills, which are legendary to say the least. Both the star cricketers were key members of Team India's World Cup-winning squads in 2007 (T20) and 2011.
In a heartwarming moment for both Gambhir and Dhoni fans, Gambhir collected an ICC award on behalf of Dhoni many years ago. Dhoni was named ICC ODI Player of the Year 2009. The keeper-batter, though, couldn't attend the award function in Johannesburg, so then vice-captain Gambhir collected the trophy from Shaun Pollock on Dhoni's behalf.
Watch the video below:
As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, during the voting period for the award, Dhoni played 24 one-dayers and scored 967 runs at an average of 60.43 and at a rate of 86.63.
The right-handed batter struck nine half-centuries in the voting period. Behind the stumps, he took 18 catches and effected eight stumpings. As skipper, he captained India to victory in 17 of 24 games.
When Gambhir hailed Dhoni for being a selfless leader
In a video shared on Star Sports in September 2023, Gambhir praised Dhoni for being a selfless leader. The former India opener said that Dhoni could have achieved a lot more with the bat but laid greater emphasis on winning ICC trophies for India.
“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.
He also opined that having a wicketkeeper-batter who could win you matches for the team from the No. 7 position was a blessing for Indian cricket. Gambhir (97 off 122) top-scored for India in 2011 ODI World Cup final against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, while Dhoni was the Player of the Match for his 91* off 79.
