Former India opener Gautam Gambhir thinks M S Dhoni would have done much better as a batsman had he batted a No. 3 position. “Had he batted at No. 3, he would’ve broken all the records. We talk about some of the greats of No. 3 – he would’ve broken everything in white-ball cricket,” said Gambhir while speaking to Jatin Sapru on his YouTube show ‘Over and Out’.
Gambhir, who is now a Member of Parliament, also clarified that he had no rift with Dhoni. He said he has a lot of “mutual respect” for the former captain. In the past, Gambhir has often been critical of Dhoni’s decisions.
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During the last IPL, Gambhir, as a commentator, spoke of a ‘so-called finisher’. Fans thought Gambhir was referring to Dhoni. While praising Virat Kohli as the best finisher in the last couple of years, Gambhir said that RCB has better stats than “so-called finishers.” He said: “(Andre) Russell being called as a finisher. Virat Kohli has been the best finisher in the last couple of years, and he batted number 3. So just by giving people this term of ‘finisher’ doesn’t make them a finisher. Compare Virat Kohli scoring the run in comparision of the so-called finishers.”
Speaking on Sapru’s YouTube channel recently, Gambhir said, “See I have so much of mutual respect for him and it’ll always remain. 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 he knows Dhoni well and respects him because he was the vice-captain of the team for the longest period of time when Dhoni was the captain. “I’ve actually been the vice-captain the longest time when he was the captain. We’ve been rivals on the field when we played for our respective teams. But I’ve got so much mutual respect for him, for the kind of person, the kind of cricketer he is,” Gambhir added.