Former India batsman Gautam Gambhir spoke in length on MS Dhoni’s captaincy during the 2012 CB series in Australia.
As far as MS Dhoni’s captaincy is concerned, no Indian skipper comes even close to his achievements. The former India skipper enjoys an envious record. Till date, he is the only skipper in the world to have won each ICC trophy. He is also the first Indian skipper to lead the team to the number one ranking in Tests. In short, Dhoni is the most decorated skipper in the history of Indian cricket and has left a legacy that will be tough to surpass.
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But one thing that has left a bitter taste in the mouth is the controversy surrounding the strained relationship between Dhoni and the senior players. Rumours suggested that Dhoni was not very fond of playing seniors in the team due to their fitness and the 2012 CB series more or less proved it.
Dhoni decided to rest either of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir in the playing eleven for the tri-series. The move eventually backfired as India failed to make it to the final of the competition which also ended India’s miserable sojourn in Australia. India had lost the Test series 4-0 and had a chance to finish the tour on a good note by winning the ODIs. But instead it ended in controversy due to the rotation policy.
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And in a recent interview, Gautam Gambhir opened up about the series, revealing how surprised he was after being told about the rotation policy.
“In the 2012 Tri-series in Australia, Dhoni declared that he can’t play all three (Gambhir, Sachin and Sehwag) of us together as he was looking ahead at the 2015 World Cup.
“It was a massive shock, I think it would have been a massive shock for any cricketer. I have not heard anyone be told in 2012 that they would never be a part of the 2015 World Cup. I always had the impression that if you keep scoring runs, age is a just a number,” Gautam Gambhir told India Today.
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“If you have the skills to score the runs and you are not a liability on the field, you can go on to play as long as you want. This was always told to us and even in Australia we got to know that all the three can’t play together, and we eventually got to play together,” he added.
He further revealed how Dhoni had to ditch his rotation policy during the must-win clash against Sri Lanka in Hobart.
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“When we were in a desperate need to win a game, I remember in Hobart, Viru and Sachin opened and I batted at three with Virat batted at four. India won that game and we had to chase in 37 over.
“At the start of the series, we didn’t play together, it was a rotation thing. When it was a desperate moment, MS had to play three of us. If you take a decision, back your decision, stick to it. Don’t back on something on which you have already decided.
“First you decided that you won’t play the three of us together, then you decided that you are going to play the three of us together. Either the original decision was wrong, or the second decision was wrong. He took that decision as a captain and it was a shock to all three of us,” Gambhir added.
India managed to win the game against Sri Lanka inside 40 overs but could not make it to the final.
Meanwhile, Gambhir recently retired from all forms of the game. He bowed out as one of India’s most successful openers. Gambhir had last played for India during the home Test series against England in 2016.
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