Former India captain Gautam Gambhir opined whether MS Dhoni is still the best captain ever in Indian Premier League history after the CSK captain led his team to the fourth IPL title, as they beat KKR to win the IPL 2021 on October 15, 2021, in Dubai.

Dhoni was the first captain to win the IPL in two consecutive years in 2010 and 2011 and has also won the tournament in 2018 and now in 2021. He also became the first player to captain 200 times in IPL and 300 times in T20 cricket history.

But Gambhir, while speaking on the ESPNCricinfo's Show 'Haan ya Na' (Yes or No), when asked whether Dhoni is the IPL's all-time best captain, said no.

"No, it is Rohit Sharma. If you talk about titles, one has won 4 and the other five," the former India opener said.  

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Gambhir reckoned the opening pair of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis, who scored 756 runs in partnerships – the third-highest for a single edition in the IPL – has a huge role to play in the team's success.

"To a certain extent but not 100 percent because Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, and the way the bowlers performed. But yes, they have been a major factor considering the kind of form they have shown," Gambhir pointed out.

Furthermore, Gambhir also didn’t pick MS Dhoni in his list of players which CSK should retain ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction. "It depends on MS Dhoni, what kind of role he has to play, or will he even play, but if I will have to retain three players, it would be Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja and perhaps Faf du Plessis," Gambhir added.