Not sure if MS Dhoni is a good T20 player says Sourav Ganguly

What’s the story?

Former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly has expressed his concern over MS Dhoni as a T20 player saying he is not too sure if he fits in the format.

“I am not too sure if MS Dhoni is a good T20 player. He is a champion ODI player but when it comes to Twenty20 cricket, in 10 years, he has got one fifty and that’s not the best record,” Ganguly was quoted by India Today.

In case you did not know

Even though Dhoni has starred in all T20 World Cups and played 76 international matches in a span of almost 10 years, he has just scored 1209 runs from 66 innings. He has just one fifty with a highest score of 56 and average of 36.63.

His strike too is not all that impressive at 123.49. Every now and then he has contributed with quick fire 20s and 30s to get his team over the line. But clearly, Ganguly believes it isn’t enough from a batsman of his stature.

The heart of the matter

In the last few years, Dhoni has struggled a bit in finishing games for his side. This year in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) he has scored just 28 runs from three games so far and averages just 14. In the first game he found it hard to get the boundaries and if it wasn’t for Steve Smith’s huge blows into the stands in the last over against Kieron Pollard of Mumbai Indians, the Supergiant could have easily ended up being on the losing side.

In the next match against Kings XI, Dhoni could only contribute five runs to the total and then in the third game against the Delhi Daredevils, when his side needed him the most while chasing down a mammoth target of 205, he holed out in the deep for just 11.

Everyone can see that the legend has clearly been struggling in the last few months and Ganguly’s comments, therefore, are not a bolt from the blue.

What’s next?

With the Champions Trophy coming up, Dhoni needs to step up and play some handy knocks which will do his confidence a world of good. Ganguly has backed him in the ODI format and he too believes Dhoni will be key to India’s chances at defending the trophy in England in June.

Author’s take

While surely Dhoni needs to step up and deliver in the T20 format, his ODI batting has looked good and hopefully, in the next few games, we will see him coming back with a bang in the IPL.