Coach Sahab, smile looks good on you: Dhoni

India’s history-making T20 World Cup triumph here reactivated the enigmatic Mahendra Singh Dhoni on social media after nearly two years and he took the opportunity to tell head coach Gautam Gambhir how good a smile looks on his intense face.

Dhoni’s last Instagram post was back in 2024.

“History gets created at Ahmedabad, big congratulations to the team and support staff and to all the fans of the Indian Cricket Team worldwide. Such a pleasure to see all of u play,” he posted after attending the final in which India thrashed New Zealand by 96 runs to win the trophy for an unprecedented third time.

“Coach Sahab smile looks great on u, intensity with a smile is a killer combo, very well done. Enjoy guys... BUMRAH ke baare mein kuch na likhoon tou hi acha hai. CHAMPION BOWLER (It’s better if I don’t write anything on Bumrah),” he quipped, referring to Gambhir’s mostly serious demeanour.

Gambhir responded to Dhoni, saying he felt nice to see the former skipper at the stadium. “And what a reason to smile, great seeing you,” commented the former opener, who played a stellar role in India’s title wins in the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup under Dhoni’s leadership. It was a display of all-round brilliance by the Suryakumar Yadav-led India on Sunday night as top-order batters Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma went on a rampage to help the team score a record 255/5 after being invited to bat by the Kiwis.

Bumrah then produced a masterclass to snare four wickets for a mere 15 runs in his quota of overs.

Dhoni was India’s first T20 World Cup-winning captain when he led the team to the trophy in the 2007 inaugural edition before a Rohit Sharma-led side added a second title in 2024.