Sourav Ganguly heaps praise on Dhoni's responsible innings at Dharamsala

What's the story?

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has hailed MS Dhoni's presence in the team's ODI dressing room after India collapsed to a seven-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka on a track aiding substantial swing and seam movement at Dharamsala.

With India reeling at 16/5 and then at 29/7, Dhoni's calm knock of 65 from 87 balls enabled India to cross hundred, thus urging his first captain Ganguly to praise the lone effort. "It was a terrific innings from MS Dhoni."

"He hit when he needed and rotated the strike when needed and that is why Virat Kohli persists with MS Dhoni in 50-over cricket," Ganguly told the India Today network.

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With India resting regular captain Virat Kohli ahead of the South Africa tour in early January, opener Rohit Sharma was appointed as the stand-in captain for the three-match ODI series as well as the three T20s against Sri Lanka.

With Kohli absent from the middle-order, Rohit suffered a massive loss in his first game in charge, prompting Ganguly to remind critics of Dhoni's importance to the side.

The heart of the matter

Only tailender Kuldeep Yadav assisted Dhoni in stretching the score towards respectability, but after adding 41 for the eight wicket and getting to 19 with the help of four boundaries, he was stumped sharply off Akila Dananjaya.

Thereafter, Dhoni attacked when the need arised and dealt in singles when required, thus reaching his 67th ODI half-century.

But Ganguly was not too perturbed by India's performance on a pitch where Suranga Lakmal finished with figures of 4/13 in ten overs by troubling India from the word go. "I feel it's a one-off. India went in with young players in Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey. This is a lesson for India to learn from here," he said.

Ganguly backed the inclusion of Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul in the playing eleven, especially with Kohli being absent. "The likes of Rahane and Rahul must play consistently in ODI cricket. Yes, Iyer will be a good player down the line – even Pandey – but at the moment, they have been found wanting," said the 45-year old.

"I hope Rahane is back because he is quality. In the last few series he has been among runs consistently. I was surprised that he was left out. You cannot compare Test form with one-day form. He needs to be there in the team especially when Virat Kohli is not there," Ganguly said.

What's next?

As Ganguly said, KL Rahul and Rahane will need more consistency in ODI cricket, but it would be unfair to draw comparisons between his long-format form and that in one-days.

India have now two more ODIs to play against Sri Lanka, the first in Mohali and the second in Vishakhapatnam, followed by a 3-match T20I series.

Author's take

With India opting to give Kohli a break for him to freshen up ahead of a gruelling tour of South Africa which begins with the first Test at Cape Town on January 5, the importance of Dhoni to India's middle-order has further heightened.

Also, as stated by Ganguly, one vacant spot in the line-up allows the likes of Rahane and Rahul with the perfect opportunity to stake a claim in India's ODI set-up, something which the team management should ponder.