'Credit to him, but he didn't sacrifice his batting position' - S Sreesanth responds to Gautam Gambhir's 'sacrifice' remark on MS Dhoni

Former India pacer S Sreesanth has given his take on Gautam Gambhir's 'sacrifice' remark on Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The former India opener emphasized Dhoni's role as captain of the national side and said it eclipsed his batting achievements in ODIs.

In light of Gambhir's statement, Sreesanth stated that Dhoni prioritized the success of the team before his individual accomplishments. He added that the former India captain was a master at being the finisher who has two World Cups to his name.

"Gautam Bhai said recently that Dhoni would have scored more runs had he batted at No.3. But for Dhoni, it was always about more victories than more runs. He always had the ability to finish games when the team needed him and he won two World Cups as well," Sreesanth told Sportskeeda.

The 40-year-old continued by saying that Dhoni deserves praise but that he didn't give up his batting position. He added that the legendary wicketkeeper-batter was able to get the best out of his men and that he always put the team first.

"Credit should go to Dhoni, but he didn't sacrifice his batting position. He worked a way to find out which players would do well for the team in which position and then slot them in those positions accordingly. His captaincy had the ability to bring the best out of his players. He has always thought about the team first," he added.

Dhoni is regarded as one of the best captains team India ever had. The 42-year-old, who was named India's captain in September 2007, has led the team to the No.1 spot in the ICC Test rankings. 

The storied wicketkeeper-batter is the only captain to win all three major ICC trophies, which include the T20 World Cup (2007), the ODI World Cup (2011) and the Champions Trophy (2013). India's semi-final clash with New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup ended up being his last international appearance as he announced his retirement in 2020.