MS Dhoni has been a very lucky captain, Sourav Ganguly had to work very hard: Gautam Gambhir

MS Dhoni’s illustrious career as the captain of the national side is the proof of calibre. Regarded as one of the most successful skippers to lead Team India, the Ranchi stalwart is the only captain in the history of the sport to have won three ICC trophies– T20 World Cup (2007), ODI World Cup (2011) and Champions Trophy (2013).

Along with Ganguly, Dhoni played a pivotal role in revolutionizing Indian cricket, especially in terms of winning the silverware. Dhoni’s captaincy voyage started in 2007 when he led a young Team India to victory in the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa. He didn’t look back post the triumph as the wicketkeeper-batsman eventually became one of the most decorated skippers of Indian cricket.

Along with Ganguly, Dhoni also played a pivotal role in revolutionizing Team India. However, former India opener Gautam Gambhir, on Star Sports’ Cricket Connected, has opined that Dhoni was a very ‘lucky’ captain.

Dhoni got an amazing team in every format: Gautam Gambhir

According to Gambhir, Dhoni had the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli and many more stalwarts in his arsenal. It made Dhoni’s job easier, unlike Ganguly, who had to work very hard as a captain.

“Dhoni has been a very lucky captain because he got an amazing team in every format. Captaining 2011 World Cup team was very easy for Dhoni because we had players like Sachin, Sehwag, myself, Yuvraj, Yusuf, Virat, so he had got the best teams, while Ganguly had to work very hard for it, and as a result, Dhoni won so many trophies,” Gambhir said.

Dhoni, who retired from Tests in 2014, led India to 27 wins in 60 matches. In ODIs, the Men in Blue won 110 out of 200 ODIs under his captaincy. Talking about Ganguly’s captaincy records, he led India to 76 wins in 146 ODIs and 21 wins in 49 Tests. ‘Dada’ is regarded as the most successful Indian Test skipper overseas as he steered India to 11 triumphs.

Team India’s resurgence was witnessed when Ganguly was at the helm as the team climbed up to No.2 position in the ICC Test rankings. India won ICC Champions Trophy in 2002 (joint-winners) and made it to the final of the 2003 World Cup under Ganguly’s leadership.

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