'MS Dhoni Didn't Sacrifice His Batting Position For...', Sreesanth Reacts To Gautam Gambhir's Claim

Gautam Gambhir had said that Dhoni sacrificed runs for trophies. Sreesanth says that MSD did not do any sacrifice, he always rated trophies higher than his international runs.

Sreesanth with MS Dhoni. (Source: X)

After Gautam Gambhir made a massive claim that MS Dhoni could have been India's consistent No 3 in ODIs and that he sacrificed his batting position to win more trophies, the comment has invited reaction from former pacer Sreesanth. Gambhir had said that Dhoni could have achieved much more with the bat, which he did not because he was always thinking as a captain and not as a batter for most of his career.  

Gambhir added that had India not become the captain, he would have been India's No 3. "...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,” Gambhir said.

Sreesanth, in an interview, reacted to the statement, saying that Dhoni was always interested in more trophies than runs. “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 told Sportskeeda.

Giving credit to Dhoni for his captaincy for India over the years, Sreesanth said that the former India captain was good at finding players who would win games for them.

“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,” Sreesanth said.

Despite batting lower down the order Dhoni retired with 10,773 runs which included just 10 centuries. He, however, smashed 73 half-centuries and these runs came at a brilliant average of 50.50 with strike rate of 87.56. It is true that Dhoni could have been one of the best Number 3s for India in the history of the game. His top two knocks in ODIs, 148 vs Pakistan and and 183 not out vs Sri Lanka, had come at No 3.