Irfan pathan, a former India pacer, recalled that Gambhir had ‘played on the ego’ of MS Dhoni. It dates back to when Dhoni’s current team, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), was facing a two-year ban.
Dhoni led Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) during that period, and Pathan was a member of the team. Gambhir, on the other hand, was the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain at the time. Gambhir set up the field for KKR to win when Dhoni batted. He brought players closer to Dhoni, just like in Test cricket. Gambhir would often give the ball to spinners, and Dhoni would fall after a slow innings.
“Gautam Gambhir played on the egos of MS Dhoni while he was captain of KKR. Pathan stated that he was the only person who had been able to rattle him for many years. He added that “MS was shaken to the core” by the field setting.
KKR vs RPS match recap
CSK batted first and were tied at 74/4. Gambhir, who was on a red-hot streak in that match, used Piyushchawla to spin the ball, and surrounded MS Dhoni’s fielders to prevent him from playing shots.
Irfan Pathan’s ability to recall the incident is also due to his own experience of batting with Dhoni. A mix-up between him and the skipper forced him to give up his wicket. Pathan realised that Dhoni had not run when he was at 5 off 14 balls. Dhoni asked Pathan, who was halfway down the track to run. Pathan did so and lost his wicket.
