Rift with MS Dhoni? Gautam Gambhir BREAKS silence on his equation with former India skipper

A lot has been said and written about former Indian skipper MS Dhoni's relationship with Gautam Gambhir. On many occasions, Gambhir questioned Dhoni openly, including his captaincy, and the famous 97-run knock in the World Cup final in 2011. 

That led to many rumours, that all is not well between the two legendary cricketers of Indian cricket. However, recently Gambhir broke his silence on the rumoured rift with MS Dhoni, while also revealing how they've certain differences in opinions, but they also have mutual respect as well. 

Gambhir recently appeared on sports presenter Jatin Sapru's youtube channel and clarified the air regarding his relationship with Dhoni. 

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"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," stated the 40-year-old. 

In the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season, Gambhir will be seen mentoring the Lucknow Super Giants.

The cricketer turned commentator also highlighted how he was the longest 'vice-captain under Dhoni', and despite their difference in opinions, the two share no bad blood. 

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"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," added Gambhir. 

The BJP MLA also reserved further praise for Dhoni, saying that he would have smashed numerous white-ball records, had the wicket-keeper batsman batted at number 3. 

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"And I can say it again, had he batted at No. 3, he would've broken all the records. We talk about some of the greats of No. 3 - he would've broken everything in white-ball cricket," said Gambhir. 

While Dhoni-led CSK will begin their IPL campaign in the tournament opener on March 26 at the Wankhede Stadium, Gambhir's Lucknow Super Giants will make their bow in the cash-rich league on March 28 against fellow new-comers Gujarat Titans.