MS Dhoni Is Struggling For More Than An Year Now, Says Sourav Ganguly

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has criticised MS Dhoni for his poor batting performance in the recently-concluded ODI series against England.

After a horror batting display in the second ODI, Dhoni failed to prove his critics wrong in the third ODI too. For the second game in a row, he left everyone surprised with his ultra-defensive approach with the bat.

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In the second game, he  had walked in at the fall of Virat Kohli’s wicket with India needing 183 in 23 overs. The asking rate was below 8 at that time. But by the time, Dhoni departed, the required run-rate had nearly doubled.  He had scored 37 off 59 balls as India managed to add just 75 runs in the last 20 overs. Eventually, India could only manage 236 in 50 overs while chasing 323.

In fact, his innings was so unusual that he was even booed by the crowd at one stage.

Even in the third ODI, the World Cup-winning skipper struggled to do well. The right-hander managed to score 42 but used up 66 deliveries for the same. What made things even worse was the timing of his dismissal. He was the last recognised batsmen at the crease and just when it looked like he would accelerate, he departed in the 46th over. India eventually managed a modest 256 for 8. In reply, England chased down the total with utmost ease to win the series.

In the wake of yet another poor batting show from Dhoni, Ganguly stated the 37-year old has been struggling for over an year now.

Ganguly also said that if the wicketkeeper-batsman is the team’s choice for the 2019 World Cup, then he has to up his game.

“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 India but at the present he is not turning it around enough and this has been going on for more than an year,” Ganguly told the official broadcasters.

The legendary skipper also urged the team-management to look beyond Suresh Raina who too looked out of sorts in the series.

“It is also time to look beyond Suresh Raina. With all due respect, I think there are better players around. He has played for a long period of time. He has got runs in ODIs, not many overseas, but India need to look ahead,” Ganguly added.

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