Kolkata, January 13: Under-fire Indian skipper M S Dhoni today got a bit of backing from former captain Sourav Ganguly who said the team has to cope up with this transition phase.
Responding to the widespread criticism for Team India’s repeated below-par performance, Ganguly said,”It comes in every captain’s tenure. MS has to bide his time.”
“It’s easy to comment from outside. You have to give the newcomers some time to settle down. Hopefully, they will do well in couple of years’ time,” he said.
Ganguly said that it is easy for everyone to criticise a captain.
“Captains are always criticised. Even in my time, despite having players’ like Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman, the team took time to settle down. You have to be patient,” Ganguly, who had taken over the captaincy from Tendulkar in a difficult phase in early 2000, said.
About 2015 World Cup in Australia, Ganguly finds Bengal’s pace duo of Ashok Dinda and Shami Ahmed as integral part of the side alongside batsman Manoj Tiwary who is nursing an injury.
“They (Dinda and Shami) have 200 percent chance looking at the conditions in Australia. It’s good for Bengal cricket. I am also confident that Tiwary will get a chance,” he said.
An in-form Cheteshwar Pujara might have been benched in the first ODI against England but Ganguly said the Saurashtra batsman would be part of the side soon.
“I’m sure he would become a part of the side soon. It’s just a matter of time.”
Ganguly said the responsibility lies with the selectors to make a team with future in mind and added that discarded duo of Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh would get ample opportunities.
“The Test side needs Sehwag. Sehwag and Harbhajan will get ample opportunities to get back to form.”
Asked whether the ODI team was missing Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly said, “He was not part of the ODI side for quite a long time and the team is used to playing without him. But it would become difficult without him in the Test side.”
“In the next one and half years, we would play about 15 Tests and it’s not easy. It’s the selectors job to make a side keeping that in mind.”
Ganguly also said the duo of Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma should be given more time to prove themselves.
“Hope they would do better. In between, Virat Kohli has done an excellent job. We have to give them some time.”
On the prospect of coaching Team India, the retired India batsman said, “I would cross the bridge when I come to it.” (PTI)
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