Team India head coach Gautam Gambhirreplied to MS Dhoni’s viral comment, which he shared on Instagram after India’s win in the T20 World Cup 2026, defeating New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. 

During an interaction with the media, maintaining a broad smile on his face, Gautam Gambhir said that he wished one day Dhoni would be in his position, and Gautam Gambhir would say the same.

“Good on him to come and watch the World Cup final. Good on him to ask me to smile, and I wish one day he could be in my position, and I can write the same thing, and hopefully, he can smile from the dugout," Gautam Gambhir responded at the Revsports event.

Gambhir talking about MS Dhoni's Instagram post.

Look at that smile on his face! 🤣❤️ pic.twitter.com/trHU8flU4S

— ` (@WorshipDhoni) March 16, 2026

What MS Dhoni said about Gautam Gambhir’s smile

Gautam Gambhir is not among the people who smile a lot. The former opener preferred to maintain a mostly stoic or tense face throughout the match. But that night in Ahmedabad was different. Like every Indian cricket fan, Gambhir was also spotted smiling in the Indian cricket team dressing room.  Dhoni spotted the moment and suggested that the head coach smile more in the upcoming days.

“Coach Sahab's smile looks great on you. Intensity with a smile is a killer combo. Very well done. Enjoy, guys,” MS Dhoni said this on his post.

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The past history behind Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni's relation

Under the current circumstances, Gautam Gambhir is the head coach of Team India, and MS Dhoni, a former international cricketer and icon of the IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK), seems to be sharing a relationship based on mutual respect.

If we walked a few years back, then the scenario might be a little bit different. As per the media reports, there were conflicts of thought and ideology between Dhoni and Gambhir. While Dhoni wanted to rotate the playing combination to inject more young blood into the team, Gambhir's vision was around a stable playing eleven.

If the reports are to be believed, then Dhoni was openly unhappy with the opener’s attitude and on-field ethics during the 2012 home series against England. According to an India Today report, “In the 2012 Tri-series in Australia, Dhoni declared that he can't play all three (Gambhir, Sachin, and Sehwag) of us together as he was looking ahead at the 2015 World Cup,” Gautam Gambhir told the media house in 2018.

"It was a massive shock, I think it would have been a massive shock for any cricketer. I have not heard anyone be told in 2012 that they would never be a part of the 2015 World Cup. I always had the impression that if you keep scoring runs, age is just a number,” he further claimed.

Fans react to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 controversy

Things shape differently as time passes by. Once a relationship surrounded by a lot of controversies, now looks a lot calmer.  Indian cricket fans, who have been monitoring all the developments closely, could not stop themselves from sharing their views on the present ground. For some, it is a “love-hate relationship”, while some other cricket fans wrote, “The world is healing.. (Cricket World)”.

The world is healing.. (Cricket World)

— Fake Umpire (@TheFakeUmpire) March 16, 2026

That love hate relationship 😱😍

— Sir Shah Analyst (@SirShahAnalyst) March 16, 2026

He's trying to say When Dhoni will sit in his position, he will know that pressure is so high that you forget to smile.

Dhoni captained a team without coach for years & that team owned everyone. He has captained & won more than anyone in whole cricketing career. Don't tell him.

— _fitman_ (@_FITMAN_) March 16, 2026