"He was pretty chilled out" - When Gautam Gambhir revealed the name of the Indian captain he enjoyed playing under a lot

There is a theory in Indian cricket that head coach Gautam Gambhir is not a big fan of former captain and legendary stumper MS Dhoni. He has often questioned the significance given to Dhoni's iconic six in the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka. He indirectly also blamed the Ranchi legend for his dismissal on 97 in the same match, claiming Dhoni reminded him of his ton after which he lost focus.

To be fair to Gambhir, though, there have also been a number of instances where he has been highly effusive in his praise of the two-time World Cup-winning captain. In fact, back in November 2017, while speaking on Kolkata Knight Riders' weekly TV show Knight Club, Gambhir admitted that he enjoyed playing a lot under Dhoni's leadership. The former KKR skipper commented:

“I have played under Sourav (Ganguly), Rahul (Dravid), Viru (Virender Sehwag) and MS (Dhoni). I felt, I enjoyed a lot under MS. (We) had great fun; we are around the same age as well. He was pretty chilled out. He kept things very simple which was very good."

While Dhoni had an exceptional record as leader in white-ball cricket, he wasn't as successful in the Test format. Under him, India suffered 4-0 whitewashes in Australia and England in 2011-12. Admitting that Dhoni had his weaknesses as leader, Gambhir hailed his former teammate for accepting defeats with grace.

“You need to give credit where (it’s due). (At times) People have criticized his (MSD’s) captaincy. What he has done for Indian cricket, not a lot of people have done that, especially the way he handled the lows," Gambhir commented.

"It is very easy to handle the highs. But the way he has handled the lows has been remarkable. Especially in Australia and England (2011-12) where we were hammered (4-0) and still being as calm as he was, not showing too many emotions, (for that) I think a lot of credit needs to go to MS," the former India opener added.

Dhoni retired from international cricket in August 2020 after a stellar career. He represented India in 535 matches across the three formats and scored 17,092 runs at an average of 44.74, with 15 hundreds and 108 half-centuries.

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MS Dhoni's record as India captain

Dhoni remains the only captain in international cricket to have won all three white-ball ICC titles. After leading India to victory in the 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa, he guided the Men in Blue to title triumph in the 2011 ODI World Cup at home. Under him, India also won the 2013 Champions Trophy in England.

The 43-year-old led India in 60 Tests, winning 27 matches and losing 18, while drawing the rest. In ODIs, he won 110 out of 200 games and in T20Is, he led India to victory in 41 out of 72 matches.