• India news

Ganguly urges India to follow England and split captaincy

ESPNcricinfo staff
December 9, 2012
MS Dhoni hasn't been in prime form with the bat or gloves against England © Getty Images
Enlarge

Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain, has said India should have different captains for Tests and limited-overs matches in order to ease the workload on MS Dhoni, who is leading in all three formats as well as keeping wicket.

Following India's defeat against England at Eden Gardens, the first time they have lost back-to-back matches at home in 12 years, Ganguly said the selectors should follow the example of most countries in order to get the most out of Dhoni.

"Every team in the world has gone with split captaincy. I am not saying the selectors should sack Dhoni and say, 'You're out'. I have always said there is too much burden on him. I think we are losing MS Dhoni as a player," Ganguly told Headlines Today, an Indian news channel. "Captaincy and your ability as a player are interlinked, I think Dhoni is a much better one-day captain than he is a Test captain.

"His performance in recent Tests has not been up to the mark, but that is because there is too much of a burden on him. I am a firm believer that his job has to be split - he needs a reprieve."

Ganguly said the selectors needed to "sit with Dhoni and ask him what form of cricket would he like to captain. I fear we may lose him as a player if we continue like this. He is a match-winner for India and he has done wonders for the team."

Responding to a statement about the selectors not naming a potential successor to Dhoni, in order to groom him, Ganguly said the captains who were successful for India did not develop through a such a system. "I was not groomed to be captain of India I just became captain, captain is something that comes by itself," Ganguly said. "It is the same case with Dhoni. When Rahul Dravid decided to give up captaincy, and you know the captaincy was offered to Tendulkar and he refused to do it, the job went to Dhoni. I don't agree with this thing that you have to groom someone to be captain."

In the ongoing Test series against England, Dhoni has scored only 92 runs in five innings, with a best of 52 in the first innings in Kolkata. England lead the four-Test series 2-1.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close