We all have witnessed bitter-sweet moments in cricket be it on field or off field. There are so many cricketers out there who are good friends. However, there are some others who turned out to be bitter adversaries. Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni’s relationship is definitely the later one.
Majority of people are aware that Gautam Gambhir’s relationship with MS Dhoni is quite weird and not so friendly.
Both of these renowned personalities have been important to cricket Nationally and internationally. Even though they have been playing with one another for years, the former cricketers occasionally seem to dislike one another.
However, their relationship is difficult to understand as one side is too aggressive publicly while the other doesn’t express it as much.
MS Dhoni is known for his calmness. Mahi didn’t ever call out Gambhir publicly, Gautam Gambhir has repeatedly criticized MS Dhoni, whether it be for the former captain’s strategy of bringing the game to a next level or the former Indian Skipper receiving the most of the credit for the 2011 World Cup victory.
Because of all these things, Gautam Gambhir become a favourite target of Mahi’s fans for trolling on various social media platforms.
But did you know? MS Dhoni had also openly criticized Gambhir in 2012 when India was losing to England at home.
When Dhoni criticized Gautam Gambhir for his gaming tactics
Despite leading the series opener, India lost the four-match Test series against England by 1-2. India had an uphill battle in the second Test after giving up an 86-run first-inning advantage.
The all-star batting line up, including MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Virender Sehwag, and Sachin Tendulkar, was bowled out for 142 runs. With a score of 65, Gambhir led all scorers for India, but Dhoni was displeased with his strategy as wickets fell at the other end resulting in defeat.
According to CricketNext’s post-game report, Dhoni lost his cool with Gambhir’s selfish behavior in the second innings, when he just cared about getting his own runs without considering the team’s goals.
Speaking with CricketNext, MS Dhoni said,
“Of late Gambhir has gone into a shell and focusing on just to save his place in the team. His prolonged poor form has resulted in low self-esteem and he’s cut off from other issues pertaining to the team.”
Moreover, Dhoni gave example of Ravichandran Ashwin and said how he managed the tail when he scored 91 in the Kolkata Test match despite not even being the designated batter. He said,
“Every run was crucial but Gambhir chose to be a mute spectator. The whole world saw that and everyone was taken aback. The effort to contribute to the team wasn’t there. Look how well R Ashwin batted with maturity during his unbeaten 91 in the Kolkata Test and he isn’t a specialist batsman. He shepherded the tailenders superbly and scored vital runs. If Ashwin can do, why couldn’t Gambhir?”
Surprisingly, after that incident Gautam Gambhir only played four more Tests for his country before his career came to an end. And as we all know. When it comes to criticizing Dhoni, Gambhir hardly ever holds back, whether it is on social media or in news conferences.
However, Gambhir should introspect if whatever Dhoni said is wrong or not.
