Irfan Pathan tells the tale of Gautam Gambhir’s tactical masterclass, saying that Gambhir “played with the ego of MS Dhoni.”

While news of the altercation between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir circulated, former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan shared an intriguing account of the legendary captain of the Chennai Super Kings, MS Dhoni, who was the former captain of Kolkata Knight Riders. While commentating on CSK’s rain-delayed match against Lucknow Super Giants, Pathan related the intriguing tale.

On Wednesday, May 3, the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings traveled to Lucknow to face the battered Lucknow Super Giants. LSG coach Gautam Gambhir has been in the spotlight since an altercation he had with Virat Kohli on the pitch. He also had a relationship with former Indian captain MS Dhoni, and former Indian pacer Irfan Pathan told a tale involving the two legends of Indian cricket.

In order to win their first IPL championship in 2012, Gambhir’s KKR defeated Dhoni’s CSK. However, the two captains’ rivalry continued for a number of seasons after that. Irfan recalled the time when Gambhir decided to use close-in fielders to spook the renowned finisher because he knew Dhoni was vulnerable to spin.

“When Gautam Gambhir was the captain of KKR, he toyed with MS Dhoni’s ego. The only person who was able to rattle him for years was him. The field setup scared MS to his very core,” Pathan, a colleague of Dhoni at Pune, stated while providing commentary in Hindi.

When the former Indian captain captained the Rising Pune Super Giants in a match against KKR at the Eden Gardens in 2016, Dhoni’s struggle against Gambhir’s strategies was plain to see. When Dhoni was on strike against the spinners, especially when facing an effective Piyush Chawla, the two-time IPL champion captain used close-in fielders. Only eight runs in 24 deliveries were managed by the RPS captain against the spinners as a result of his struggles. The rain-affected game was easily won by KKR by eight wickets.