Not sure if MS Dhoni is a good T20 cricketer: Sourav Ganguly

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is one of the most celebrated cricketers from India. He has achieved almost everything a cricketer can only dream of. But that doesn’t stop him from playing cricket, even though he is 35 years of age, but still is one of the fittest athletes going around in international cricket.

Dhoni recently was stripped from the Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) captaincy. He continued to play as a non-captain just what he does for India, except that he stepped down on his own terms as an Indian captain.

Fans were expecting him to bat freely in the IPL 2017 but it hasn’t happened so far. In three games, Dhoni has just 28 runs to his name. Worst is that his strike rate has been just 75.67 so far. He failed to get going in a steep chase against Mumbai Indians as he could muster to just a run-a-ball 12. He was dropped once – when he failed to clear the ropes off a full toss and was put down at long-on – and could only get 2 singles off the 2 balls he faced in the final over. If it wasn’t for the twin consecutive strikes by Steve Smith in the final over which went the distance, things would have looked bad for MS Dhoni.

Dhoni’s style of batting was always considered perfect for T20 cricket. While his all T20 record looks decent, he hasn’t just the solitary fifty – which he recently made against England in February – against his name in international T20s. True that he bats lower down the order, but his strike rate of 123.49 doesn’t do justice to his big-hitting abilities.

Former India captain Ganguly was critical of Dhoni the T20 cricketer. Speaking to India Today, Ganguly said “I am not too sure if Dhoni is a good T20 player. He is a champion ODI player but when it comes to T20 cricket, in 10 years, he has got one fifty and that’s not the best record.”

On asked about Dhoni’s Champions Trophy selection chances, Ganguly said, “I will pick Dhoni for the Champions Trophy but he has to score runs.”

With a young Rishabh Pant waiting in the wings, the pressure will only mount on Dhoni. Like Michael Clarke recently said in an interview with India Today “Dhoni has to score runs for himself. As a professional, he has to.” He really has to score runs.

Pant’s good showing so far in this year’s IPL will be on Dhoni’s mind. He must be looking to score runs himself because he needs them to prove to himself that he still is good enough to perform at this level.