Kolkata, Dec. 23: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly feels Indian ODI captain MS Dhoni has still a lot of cricket left in him . There have been a speculation following a recent comment from BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur after the recent selection committee meeting for India’s tour to Australia . The BCCI secretary commented Dhoni will remain captain till T20 World Cup next year . Does that mean Dhoni is soon to follow the footsteps of Kiwi captain Brendon McCullum after the T20 World Cup in India . Former India captain Sourav Ganguly feels differently so as he wants to see Dhoni carry on playing till 2019 World Cup ,”Dhoni is a great cricketer and set standards at international arena. He still has cricket left in him to represent India for some more years,” Ganguly told the media in a function at Jharkhand on Tuesday .
Asked who will be the captain of ODI in the next World Cup, Ganguly said, “We have still time to decide the ODI captain, which is to be held in 2019”.
“One will have to work hard and perform to reach the level of Dhoni, who has set standard in the cricket arena in the world,” the former southpaw said. To a query as to who possessed the same aggression on the field in Indian team like him, Ganguly said Virat Kohli has it in him to lead the country for a long time. “He has been performing well and is efficient enough to lead the country forward,” he said.
The former Indian captain also batted for Keenan Stadium and feel international cricket should return at the venue , ‘You don’t get stadiums like Keenan easily which has hosted ten international one-day matches and players from around the world have enjoyed playing here’.
Tata Steel’s Keenan Stadium last hosted the international cricket match between India-England in the year 2006 and since then the ground has been only limited to Ranji trophy and other domestic matches.
‘I played 3 one day international matches at the Keenan stadium and enjoyed every bit of it and still remember the century I scored as captain against South Africa and won the only match at the stadium for India, said Ganguly, adding, ‘JSCA International Cricket Stadium in Ranchi is of world class standard but Keenan has its own reputation and soon it must be renovated’.
Talking about Yuvraj Singh, Ganguly said the flamboyant left hander will prove his return to the side and will shine again.
When asked who will be the captain for 2019 World Cup, Ganguly said, it’s too early to comment but Virat Kohli is a good player and MS Dhoni has set big standards and it will take some catching to come closer to the India ODI captain.