Former Indian opening batter Gautam Gambhir has heaped praise on MS Dhoni for sacrificing the batter in him due to captaincy. Gambhir reckons the former Indian captain had all the potential to break numerous records had he continued to bat higher up the order instead of slotting at No. 6 or 7.
While Dhoni is touted by several experts as one of the best finishers in limited-overs cricket, the 42-year-old began his career as a top-order batter, especially in the 50-over format. The Ranchi-born cricketer has outstanding numbers at No.3, No.4, and No.5 in ODIs, averaging well over 50. The World Cup-winning skipper averages a whopping 82.75 at No. 3 in the format.
Speaking to Star Sports, the cricketer-turned-politician reckons Dhoni relinquished his runs to get India the ICC trophies and that he could've created plenty of records had he continued to bat in the top order.
"If MS would have batted at No 3, I am sure he could have broken several ODI records. People always see MS with the trophies but in my opinion, he sacrificed his international runs for the team’s trophies. He started batting at No 6 or 7. If he had not been captain, he would have been India’s No 3, and I think he could have scored more than what he has scored and could have scored more hundreds also."
"MS was the first wicketkeeper of India who could change the game with his batting" - Gautam Gambhir
Deeming Dhoni as a blessing for winning matches single-handedly on several occasions, the 41-year-old added:
"MS 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."
Dhoni retired from international cricket in August 2020 after playing 90 Tests, 350 ODIs, and 98 T20Is.
