MS Dhoni needs to reinvent himself: Sourav Ganguly

MS Dhoni

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly’s biggest achievement was improving India’s away record which was abysmal before his time. Leading a team of legends, he brought about a change in attitude both within the team and outside it. Ganguly’s Team India was confident and didn’t run away from a fight.

Now a cricket commentator and expert, he watches MS Dhoni’s side going through the same humiliations of the pre-2000 era. India suffered yet another embarrassing series loss in England after the whitewash of 2011, and though it managed to win a Test this time, total collapse of the batting order resulted in three humongous defeats.

After losing 1-3, Dhoni has come under immense criticism from the media and the fans. India had taken a 1-0 lead in the series with a win at Lord’s. However, they surrendered meekly in the last three tests and fell to heavy defeats.

Dhoni’s decision making was also questioned as he could not think of ways to get the England batsmen out. His decisions in terms of selection of bowlers were also quite dicy at times. Writing for GoCricket, Ganguly said that Dhoni needs to ‘reinvent’.

“Dhoni has to find out a way to play Test cricket overseas because his record in last four years has not been good. He will embark on another difficult tour of Australia in two months' time for a four-Test series. It is going to be even harder than it was in England and hopefully even he can find some time to regroup and reinvent to find a lot of things for India,” Ganguly wrote.

“He has to have a hard look at himself. His batting has improved in overseas conditions but his captaincy has left a lot to be desired. I think as a captain of India, he needs to reassess himself honestly.

"There will be people who will be criticising you; there will be people who would try to tell you that this is what you need to do. I think they all want the team to do well. I think his tactics and his adaptability has fallen short. He needs to be a bit more inventive. He needs to take quick decisions if he wants to come back as a good captain in Test matches," he added.

At the same time, Ganguly is backing Dhoni to lead the side until the next World Cup in February 2015.