Ganguly wants Dhoni to play T20Is 'more freely'

'His record in T20I is not that good compared to ODIs. Hope Kohli and the team management will speak to him separately. He has immense ability. If he approaches T20Is differently, then he will be successful'

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Sunday advised under-fire World Cup winning skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to approach the Twenty20 Internationals "differently".

Former India cricketers, including Ajit Agarkar and VVS Laxman, recently raised questions about Dhoni's T20 future, creating a storm in the country's cricketing circles.

"His record in T20I is not that good compared to ODIs. Hope Kohli and the team management will speak to him separately. He has immense ability. If he approaches T20Is differently, then he will be successful," said Ganguly.

Chasing 197 in second T20 versus New Zealand in Rajkot, India were struggling at 97 for four when Dhoni joined skipper Virat Kohli and found it difficult to get it going. Eventually India lost the match.

Ganguly however feels Dhoni has a lot of cricket left in him, especially in one-dayers.

"Definitely not for one-dayers. I think he should keep playing one-day cricket, but he has to play differently in T20Is. He has to play T20Is freely. It depends on the selectors and how they would like to play him," Ganguly said here on the sidelines of a TV shoot.

Ganguly expressed surprise at India opting to rest all-rounder Hardik Pandya for the upcoming Test series.

"I'm surprised. I don't know if he's injured. He has played only three Tests... This is the age to play. I don't know the exact reason. Hope he's fit.

"India won't play with three spinners, definitely not at the EdenGardens as the pitch here is different. They will play with two spinners and now since they don't have Hardik Pandya they may have a different combination for the all-rounders slot."

Ganguly hoped Sri Lanka would give India fight after their confidence-boosting 2-0 win over Pakistan in the Test series last month.

"Of course India are the favourites. They are a much better side than Sri Lanka. Recently they won in Sri Lanka across all formats.

"I hope it won't be a one-sided series. The recent (limited overs) series against New Zealand was competitive. Hope Sri Lanka will play well," he said.

Image: MS Dhoni, the captain of India chats with former skipper Sourav Ganguly

Photograph: BCCI