MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir have played alongside each other for a tenure of over 12 years. Both the greats have carried the Indian side to the touchline with their mesmerizing innings. The best manifestation was perhaps the 2011 World Cup final, during which the duo built a crucial partnership of 109 runs which resulted in India’s first World Cup glory in 28 years.

Gautam Gambhir’s first impression of MS Dhoni

Gautam Gambhir, the former Indian opener, has revealed his very first impression of MS Dhoni. MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir were essential parts of the Indian batting line-up between 2005 to 2012. They first met each other while playing for India U19 during a triangular series. It was the tournament when the cricketing fraternity was left stunned after watching the big six-hitting sensation from India, MS Dhoni.

“We went on an India A tour to Kenya and Zimbabwe. We played a triangular series against Pakistan A and Kenya. The way he was hitting the ball we all knew he was someone who could keep wicket and hit the ball that long and that far,” Gambhir said on the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports. “That was not normal for any Indian wicketkeeper to do because before that we had brilliant keepers, but never those hard-hitting players who could hit those 100-meter sixes. He was phenomenal and that’s the reason he’s achieved what he has,” he added.

MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir’s contribution to Team India

Gambhir was the top-scorer in both the -2007 and 2011- World Cup finals. The southpaw was a heavy run-scorer en route to India’s rise to the pinnacle of the Test rankings. Gambhir recalled being awestruck watching Dhoni’s ability to hit towering sixes and how it was the beginning of a great success story. Gautam Gambhir is one of the most underrated cricketers in India.

MS Dhoni is just not a name in India but an emotion. The fans are quite attached to a player that won them every trophy they asked. He is the only skipper on the planet to win 50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup, and ICC Champions Trophy. Dhoni bid adieu to international cricket back on August 15, 2020. He is reckoned as one of the best finishers in the history of cricket and has achieved every milestone possible as a captain of the national side. He came into the spotlight back in 2004 on the back of his scintillating performance in the triangular series that included countries like Kenya and Zimbabwe.