Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir acknowledges that the key similarity in his and MS Dhoni‘s captaincy styles is fostering a dressing room environment where every player feels secure.
Gambhir highlighted the impact of insecurity on a player’s performance, emphasizing that talent alone may not suffice. He asserts that providing players with security and support is fundamental to building a successful team that achieves victories and trophies.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda on SK Match ki Baat, Gautam Gambhir shared his views on the commonality between his and MS Dhoni’s leadership approaches.
“I feel insecurity is the biggest reason for a player’s failure. It’s not about ability. If you don’t have the ability you won’t reach the first-class, IPL, or international level in the first place. So it is important to have a secure dressing room. A secure dressing room is a happy dressing room and it eventually becomes a winning dressing room.”
Gambhir led the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to victory in two IPL seasons, clinching titles in 2012 and 2014. He has returned to KKR as a mentor, and the team is poised to secure a playoff spot once more.
Gautam Gambhir discusses CSK’s utilization of MS Dhoni in the finisher role
This season, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have been strategically positioning MS Dhoni to face an average of 8-10 balls per innings. Dhoni’s impact has been remarkable, as he has scored 96 runs off the 37 balls he has faced, boasting an impressive strike rate of nearly 260.
Here’s Gautam Gambhir’s perspective on Dhoni’s influence:
“It is a strategy of CSK (Dhoni facing just 8-10 balls) and that has given Dhoni the freedom. Different teams have different strategies and CSK has done this for the past 2-3 years. The freedom has allowed Dhoni to have an impact. When you play 20-25 balls you have that responsibility to consolidate, but when it’s just 8-10 balls you can go out there and express yourself with freedom.”
Dhoni passed the CSK captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad at the beginning of IPL 2024. After undergoing a successful knee surgery last year, he has made an effort to participate in this season as a gesture of gratitude to the fans.
Whether or not this marks his final IPL season remains uncertain, and only time will reveal the answer.
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