MS Dhoni - Gautam Gambhir - sportstiger

Picture Credit: Twitter

Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni are two huge names in Indian cricket. While MSD was the captain of the Indian cricket team that won the World Cup final in 2011, Gambhir was the titular clash's highest individual run-getter from the Indian side. The partnership between the two batters proved to be the turning point of the match after India were 3 down and were stuck in a tricky run chase.

Yet years after their respective international careers came to an end, there were various reports and speculations hinting at a rift between the relationship between the two. The left-handed top-order batter has finally decided to address the same and has cleared that there is no stress in their relationship.

"It's b*****t, it's crap. See I have so much of mutual respect for him and it'll always remain. I've said it on air, I'll say it on your channel, I can say it anywhere in front of 138 crore people, that if ever in need, I hope he's never in need, but if ever in need in life, I'll be the first one standing next to him because of what he's done for Indian cricket, what he's as a human being," Gambhir said while speaking to Jatin Sapru on the Youtube show Over and out.

"See we can have differences in opinion, you might look at the game a different way, I might look at the game in a different way. I've got my own opinions, he's got his own opinion. I've actually been the vice-captain the longest time when he was the captain... We've been rivals on the field when we played for our respective teams. But I've got so much mutual respect for him, for the kind of person, the kind of cricketer he is," he added.

Gambhir has often said that MSD would have been an even more impactful player had he batted up the order. The wicketkeeper-batter even registered his highest ODI score of 183* batting at number 3 but when he became captain, he took perhaps the more challenging role of being a finisher for himself.

Dhoni will lead CSK in IPL 2022 while the former Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gambhir has been appointed as the Team Mentor for Lucknow Super Giants ahead of their inaugural season.