Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal recently opened up on his relationship with Indian legends, MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir.

While Akmal hailed Dhoni’s career and his exceptional mentality, he called Gambhir "like a brother" and congratulated the current India head coach on his recent success at the helm.

"No doubt MS Dhoni is someone with a different mentality altogether, an absolute match-winner and he’s super calm. The way he played was fantastic, and had a fantastic career. We used to talk a lot about wicket-keeping, we used to talk a lot about batting and yeah, it was often good to talk to Dhoni," Akmal said in an interaction with CricBlog.

Talking about his rapport with Gambhir, Kamran added, "We share a good bond and are good friends. Even with Gautam Gambhir too. I mean me and Gautam are good friends too. I share a good relationship with him. He’s like my brother."

"In fact, I’d like to congratulate Gautam on winning his first Test as a coach. I’m so happy for him," he further stated.

Gautam Gambhir was named India’s head coach after Rahul Dravid’s term ended with the T20 World Cup 2024 triumph in June. His stint with the Men in Blue began on a bitter-sweet note as India blanked Sri Lanka 3-0 in T20Is but lost the ODIs 0-2.

In his maiden Test assignment, Gambhir guided the Indian team to 2-0 series win over Bangladesh at home. Having said that, he has a long road with stern challenges ahead.

Team India will now engage in a three-match T20I series against Bangladesh and then host New Zealand for three Tests this month. Subsequently, they will travel to Australia for five Test matches as part of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.