Sehwag refutes comments by Ganguly that Dhoni was behind his ouster from the Indian team

Sehwag does not believe Dhoni had a role to play in his ouster from the Indian Test team in 2013

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag does not believe MS Dhoni had a role to play in his ouster from the Indian Test team back in 2013, IBNLive reports. Sehwag, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket, never represented India again but refused to blame Dhoni for his failure to make a comeback.

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly had claimed in 2013 after the Indian selectors dropped Sehwag from the squad after the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, without even naming a replacement that Dhoni. who was then the skipper in the longer format of the game as well, had a role to play in the decision.

“It would be wrong to assume that there are no inputs from Dhoni in selection matters. If a captain asks for a particular player it is difficult for the selectors to say no. So I believe there were inputs from Dhoni even if he may not attend selection meetings," Ganguly had said back then, as reported by Deccan Herald.

Sehwag, however, refuses to believe so and claimed that Dhoni was a good-hearted person who was always good in dealing with the senior players in the side.

“I don't think (Sourav Ganguly's) statement (that Dhoni was behind Sehwag's ouster from Team India) was correct. I don't think Dhoni would have done this. He is a nice man at heart. We, senior players, respect him, and when he first took over as captain, all senior players played under him, gave him guidance and nice suggestions, which he implemented during his captaincy and our team won in T20, ODIs and Test matches," Sehwag said.

He reasoned that the selectors might have taken the decision to axe due to his poor form and went on to claim that it was in fact Ganguly, whom Sehwag had credited for much of his success in international cricket, who used to interfere in team selections.

Sehwag claimed that Ganguly used to interfere in team selections

"Normally the criterion is, any player can be dropped after non-performance in four Tests whether he is the captain or a senior or a junior player.

"The selectors decide the criteria. I think the picking or dropping of players by a captain used to take place when Ganguly was the skipper, but the scenario changed thereafter when Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble took over. Probably they changed the trend and it was decided that only those who perform shall play," Sehwag said.