MS Dhoni had to be sent at No.3 to frame himself: Sourav Ganguly

New Delhi: Former Indian captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly expressed that it was mandatory to send Mahendra Singh Dhoni up the order to give him enough freedom to reveal himself at the beginning of his career.

Ganguly in an interview with SportsTak revealed the reason behind sending Dhoni at No.3 in an ODI against Pakistan at the Visakhapatnam in 2005. “There was the Challenger Trophy, he (Dhoni) scored a hundred for my team while opening the batting, so I knew (of his potential). He got the opportunity to bat at No. 3 in Vizag, scored a superb hundred and whenever he has got a chance to play more overs, he has scored big,” said the former India skipper.

#thisdaythatyear in 2005.

MS Dhoni scored 1st Intl 100 vs Pakistan.148 runs in 123 balls in Visakhapatnam.#Dhoni pic.twitter.com/j2XmpOffUx

— TEAM MS DHONI #Dhoni (@imDhoni_fc) April 5, 2020

He added, “A player is made when you send him up the order, you can’t make a player by playing him lower down the order. I always believe you can’t become a big cricketer by sitting inside the dressing room. The kind of abilities, especially the six-hitting prowess he had, was rare. He changed his game towards the end of his career but when the raw MS Dhoni arrived, it was very important to make him free.”

Ganguly wished he had batted in the top order more often. “When I had retired, I aired my views many times, that Dhoni should bat higher up the order.”

 

 

 

 

 

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“It is an end of an era. What a player he has been for the country and world cricket . His leadership qualities has been something which will be hard to match specially in the shorter format of the game and his batting in one day cricket at his early stages made the world stand up and notice his flair and sheer natural brilliance .Every good thing comes to an end and this has been an absolute brilliant one …he has set the standards for the wicketkeepers to come and make a mark for the country … he will finish with no regrets on the field …An outstanding career ..I wish him the best in life .” Sourav Ganguly, President, BCCI

A post shared by SOURAV GANGULY (@souravganguly) on Aug 15, 2020 at 9:19am PDT

Dhoni declared his retirement from international cricket on August 15 through an Instagram post. The wicketkeeper played his last game for India in the 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand at Old Trafford in Manchester. Dhoni will be seen in action for the Chennai Super Kings in the 13th edition of IPL, which is scheduled to begin from September 19 to November 10.