New Delhi: Sourav Ganguly has jumped into the debate on whether MS Dhoni is good enough to contunue as India's wicket-keeper batsman in T20Is.
MS Dhoni, who gave us our first T20 World Cup in 2007, is now under fire for his recent performance in T20 matches. With his waning hitting abilties, there is suspense over him place in the side.
Ganguly recently showed his concerns over Dhoni’s future in T20 matches. Ganguly believes that Dhoni needs to improve in order to solidify his future. Echoing Laxman's views, he suggested that team management should explain Dhoni's role in this shortest format of cricket.
In a recent interview with India Today TV, Ganguly said, “I think the Indian team management needs to have a chat with MS Dhoni and discuss about his role in the side. He is a big name when it comes to Twenty20 cricket. So before taking any judgment, I believe that he should be given a fair chance to prove himself once again,”.
He also said that the team needs to think about the 2019 World Cup and if Dhoni is unable to improve in the near future, they need to start looking at alternatives.
Dhoni’s batting position in the T20 side has become a major point of concern between former Indian Cricketers and adding to this list is Virendra Sehwag. In his blog, Sehwag had showed the same sentiments like Ganguly over Dhoni’s future in Indian Cricket Team.
Apart from Ganguly and Sehwag, Dhoni’s inability to play big shots during the India-New Zealand 2nd T20 match in Rajkot made Ajit Agarkar and VVS Laxman skeptical about his possible exclusion from the side.
However, Sunil Gavaskar believes that Dhoni should continue to play limited-overs cricket.
Ganguly also suggested that considering Dhoni’s experience in T20, his batting order should be promoted at number 4.
“I have been saying this for a long time that MS Dhoni should bat higher up the order. If he comes to bat at No. 4, he will have a lot of time to get settled and this will also help in playing his natural game,” Ganguly said.
Ganguly also said that the Indian skipper has always got support from Captain Virat Kohli and this migt be a big boost up for him.
“It is a big thing when your captain is supporting you. Virat (Kohli) has supported Dhoni well during his lean patch and it’s time that he repays that belief with his performance,” he said.
Dhoni’s performance in Rajkot during the 2nd T20 match with New Zealand might be credited for this frequent discussion as he scored 49 off 37 balls, played 10 dot balls as the India fell short by 40 runs in a 197-run chase thereby losing the match.