Former India skipper Saurav Ganguly has thrown his weight behind under-fire Mahendra Singh Dhoni, stating that the latter’s experience and ability will help him succeed.
The 37-year-old faced criticism for his failure to rotate the strike against Afghanistan last week, and even against the West Indies on Thursday.
Dhoni initially found the going tough before getting 16 runs in the final over to finish unbeaten on 56 off 61 deliveries and take India to 268/7 against West Indies at Manchester on Thursday. India won the match by 125 runs.
However, Ganguly did not read much into Dhoni’s style of batting. “It’s a one-off and I won’t look too much into it. Yes, MS Dhoni has been in the [same] situation in the past – last year when he came to England – we saw the same struggle with spin,” Ganguly told Star Sports.
“But he [Dhoni] needs someone to play with him, and if he bats with Virat Kohli at three, KL Rahul at 4 and he is at 5, or with Hardik Pandya, life becomes a lot easier for him because they keep hitting and he keeps rotating the strike.”
Ganguly sought to dispel any doubts over Dhoni’s form. “I would like to wait before passing a statement on how well he has played, especially his strike rate, because he has the ability to hit the boundaries and play differently,” the former captain added.
“So, lets not get into MS Dhoni so quickly in this competition yet, because his experience, the quality and the ability he has, he will defiantly succeed, Ganguly said.
India skipper Virat Kohli also backed Dhoni and called his experience and feedback invaluable. Unbeaten India play hosts England next on June 30 at Birmingham.
Buy an annual Scroll Membership to support independent journalism and get special benefits.
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!