“MS Dhoni Didn’t Sacrifice His Batting Position”: Ex-India Star Counters Gautam Gambhir’s Claim

Former Indian cricket team fast bowler S Sreesanth believes that MS Dhoni did not sacrifice his batting position for the sake of the team and it was a decision taken consciously by the former skipper in order to completely utilise his talents as a finisher. Sreesanth’s comments came in connection to claims made by former teammate Gautam Gambhir who said that Dhoni would have scored more runs if he batted at No. 3. The former pacer added that Dhoni was well aware about the positions that suited all the batters and it was his finishing ability that helped India in winning two World Cup titles.

“Gautam Bhai said recently that Dhoni would have scored more runs had he batted at No.3. But for Dhoni it was always about more victories than more runs. He always had the ability to finish games when the team needed him and he won two World Cups as well,” Sreesanth said in an interview with Sportskeeda.

“Credit should go to Dhoni, but he didn’t sacrifice his batting position. He worked a way to find out which players would do well for the team in which position and then slot them in those positions accordingly. His captaincy had the ability to bring the best out of his players. He has always thought about the team first,” the former India fast bowler added.

Earlier, Gambhir said that Dhoni somewhere ‘sacrificed’ his batting position for the team.

“MS (Dhoni) 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. If MS would have batted at No 3, I am sure he could have broken several ODI records,” said Gambhir on Star Sports.

“People always talk about MS Dhoni and his achievements as a captain, which is absolutely true. But I feel due to captaincy, he sacrificed the batter in him, and he could have achieved much more with his bat which he didn’t. And this happens when you are a captain because then you put the team ahead, and you forget about yourself. 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,” he added.