Kolkata, July 11: Appearing on a recent television show with former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, batting star Gautam Gambhir spoke about MS Dhoni’s leadership and his own experience while captaining the Indian cricket team
Appreciating Dhoni’s captaincy Gambhir said, “He is a real cool customer. It seems nothing can put him under pressure. Whatever the situation, he is always under control. The best thing about his captaincy is he backs the newcomers […] He makes sure that every player gets enough [of a] chance to prove himself. It’s very important. Much like Dada […] Most of the senior players in the current team started under Dada.”
When asked to compare the 2011 ODI World Cup-winning side with the one that won the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup he said, “Well, both are special in their own way. One can’t compare the two. It was the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup and winning it was a great achievement. And we all know how important the ODI World Cup win was. It had come after 28 years and we deserved it.”
Gambhir, who missed out on a well deserved century in the ICC World Cup 2011 final, reminisced about his gritty innings. “The important thing is we won the Cup. But well, it would have been great to get the century. Actually, all through the innings I was concentrating on my batting, not the score. I was just trying to focus on each and every delivery. But Dhoni reminded me that I was nearing my century. For a fraction of a second, I started thinking about it. It was a bad shot,” he conceded.
About his captaincy he said, “I led the national team in the series against New Zealand last year. I have also led the IPL sides - Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders. Captaining the national side is a matter of huge honour and pride. Every cricketer in the country dreams [of leading] the national side. So I won’t compare anything with that. But surely, captaining Kolkata Knight Riders was also a great experience.”
