Dhoni should get a fair chance to prove himself: Sourav Ganguly

Veteran Indian cricketer, MS Dhoni, has been under the firing range in the past few months. Many believe that he should hang his boots from the shortest format of the game. The cricket pundits have their divided stance over the matter. The most recent to join the discussion is former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly. As per the recent quotes in Hindustan Times, Ganguly mentioned that he is unsure about Dhoni’s place in the Indian side.

His remarks have come after several big names like VVS Laxman and Ajit Agarkar noted that Dhoni should retire from T20 cricket. Laxman and Agarkar said the same after India’s defeat to New Zealand in the second T20I at Rajkot. While they were in favor of roping in a youngster, others like Sunil Gavaskar feel that it is unfortunate that only MSD was blamed for the defeat. Now, Ganguly said that the team management need to sit with Dhoni and discuss the way ahead. They need to assign a role to the veteran cricketer.

“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 judgement, I believe that he should be given a fair chance to prove himself once again. The team also needs to think about the 2019 ICC World Cup and if Dhoni is unable to improve in the near future, they need to start looking at other alternatives,” quoted Sourav Ganguly.

Batting higher in the order

Speaking on the same lines, Sourav Ganguly further noted that Dhoni should bat higher in the batting order. Batting at number 4 is the most ideal position for someone like Dhoni. Interestingly, team India has tried every optionn at number 4 in the recent past but Dhoni.

Dinesh Karthik, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, and Hardik Pandya have all got their hands at the position but not Dhoni. Ganguly further remarked that it is high time that Dhoni starts repaying for the faith shown by skipper Virat Kohli.

“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,” mentioned Ganguly.

“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 added further.