Gautam Gambhir remarked that when he faced MS Dhoni’s CSK, he knew he wanted to win.
Gautam Gambhir, the Kolkata Knight Riders’ coach, has opened up about his on-field struggle with Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the Indian Premier League. Gambhir, who guided KKR to two IPL victories as captain, had tactical skirmishes with five-time IPL champion MS Dhoni.
The two mainstays of Indian cricket made the KKR-CSK rivalry unforgettable with their opposing leadership strategies. Gambhir, famed for his aggressive captaincy, led KKR to 11 victories over CSK. Under his guidance, Kolkata defeated Dhoni’s CSK in the IPL 2012 final.
The former Indian opener noted that when he played CSK, he was always determined to win the major battle.
“I want to win.” I have a really clear mind. There are humans, indeed. Friendship, mutual respect—everything is different. Everything will always remain the same, but when you’re in the midst, I’m captaining KKR, he’s captaining CSK, and if you ask him, if he were here instead of me, he’d say the same thing: it’s all about winning. “I want to get back in a winning dressing room,” Gambhir told Star Sports before KKR’s match against CSK.
The KKR coach also praised Dhoni for his dominant record as Indian captain, saying no one could ever match his level in terms of trophies won for the country.
“MS is likely the most successful captain India has ever had. I don’t believe anyone can ever achieve that level, winning three ICC titles. People can win overseas and in as many Test matches as they like, but three ICC trophies are the maximum,” he said.
Gambhir, who last played in the IPL in 2018, will reignite the KKR-CSK rivalry, but this time as the team’s mentor. However, the renowned cricketer is scared of Dhoni’s tactical thinking and his ability to dominate the game with his amazing knowledge of the game.
“I thoroughly loved the IPL because I knew MS had that tactical approach. He was highly strategically sound, knew how to handle the spinners, how to arrange the field against them, and was unlikely to give up. He batted at No. 6 or 7 and understood that as long as he was there, he could finish the game, even if it meant scoring 20 runs in one over,” Gambhir said.
During the IPL 2016 season, when Dhoni played for the Rising Pune Supergiants, Gambhir astonished the cricketing world by putting up an aggressive field that resembled Test cricket for the former India captain, preventing him from breaking out.
The former KKR captain also stated how difficult it is to field a club like CKS in the cash-rich league.
“But, at the same time, I felt I had the bowling attack to match anyone in CSK. So, strategically, I might be better than him, and I probably had to be better than him in every manner to defeat him because Dhoni isn’t particularly aggressive on the field, but I always knew he wouldn’t back down. You cannot win the match against Chennai unless you score the last run. There are certain teams that, even if you get close, give up, but not Chennai,” Gambhir said.
