MS Dhoni has got to get in a position where he keeps hitting, says Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly has echoed the popular opinion that MS Dhoni is struggling to stay afloat in the Indian squad and needs to fight for the right spot in the batting line-up. He also added that the Indian selectors need to take proper care of KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane in order for them to perform.
Virat Kohli-led team India, under the guidance of Ravi Shastri and assistant coach Sanjay Bangar, fell to their first defeat in an ODI series since January 2016. This was the first time the highly-successful Virat Kohli tasted defeat since being promoted to the post of the skipper. An eight-wicket loss in the last ODI at the hands of Eoin Morgan & Co. courtesy of yet another brilliant batting performance from Joe Root ensured the home team a successful outing after a 2-1 loss in the T20I series.
Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly felt that it was few individual flaws and disappointments that ultimately led to the downfall. He singled out former skipper MS Dhoni for criticism stating that the 37-old batsman needed to find a right spot in the batting line-up, and that too fast. Dhoni came under severe criticism after his slow run-rate in the second ODI which also saw a large portion of the crowd boo the CSK skipper.
"If Dhoni has got to play then he has got to get in a position where he keeps hitting. If it is 24-25 overs and he has got to build an innings, he is struggling at the moment. He may turn it around as he has been a great player for Inda but at present, he is not turning it around enough and this has been going on for more than a year," said Ganguly.
In the series-decider, he scored 42 off 66 balls even though the Indians kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Ganguly added that Dhoni needed to find his form soon with rumors of retirement also in circulation amongst the Indian media.
The left-handed batsman also singled out the cases of out of
"I think two of your best batsmen (Rahane and Rahul) are not being looked after properly. I am not saying it is deliberate but it is my opinion either of the two have to be played at four because it is too much of a pressure, especially on Rohit and Virat Kohli. In South Africa, India did well because Kohli got three
"They (the team management) are not giving enough opportunities at the moment. Rahul got the fantastic hundred at Manchester and now he was dropped. You won't be able to produce players like that. Same for Rahane. These are your two best batsmen. You have to have to have