Ganguly takes stab at Dhoni: Better ODI captain

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has called for the appointment of different captains for Tests and limited-overs matches in order to relieve Mahendra Singh Dhoni the pressure of leading the team in all three formats as well as keeping wicket.

Although he stopped short of criticising Dhoni's captaincy, Ganguly backed the idea of having split captains like most other Test playing nations.

"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.

The unofficial inquest has begun after India suffered humiliating defeats against England who took an unassailable 2-1 series lead in the four-match Test series.

Ganguly, one of the most successful captains India has produced, felt the burden of captaincy had affected Dhoni's form as a player.

"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," he said.

Ganguly felt the World Cup winning captain would be better off captaining the one-day side than Tests.

"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," he said urging the selectors 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," he warned.
 
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.

Another former Indian captain, Kapil Dev felt there was no suitable replacement for Dhoni.

"Do we have another player to captain at this stage? I don't see anybody. If Virat Kohli starts getting runs I can understand, but he is also not getting runs.

"I don't think anybody is ready. I don't think sacking anybody in the middle of the series is right. He is under pressure, the selectors have to sit and talk to him. He has to speak to himself that 'look I have to perform well'."

However, Ganguly felt it was not necessary to groom a successor for Dhoni.

"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 (the) 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."

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