Gambhir should be named Test captain: Sourav Ganguly

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly on Monday once again raised a question mark over Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s captaincy in Test cricket and said Gautam Gambhir’s success in the IPL would give selectors an option as far as appointing captain for the longer version is concerned. Gambhir led Kolkata Knight Riders to their first-ever title in the Indian Premier League on Sunday after four failed attempts by the side.

“As I’ve always said, there would be a question mark over Dhoni as a Test player. But Gambhir is an obvious choice in the Test format. Gambhir obviously gives an option to the selectors. It’s a 20 per cent chance though,” Ganguly said referring to India’s humiliating eight consecutive Test defeats in England (0-4) and Australia (0-4).

Refusing to compare Dhoni with Gambhir, Ganguly told a Bengali TV channel that the Ranchi stalwart, with his cool demeanour, is the best in the shorter version — ODIs and T20s. He said that Dhoni’s record in the those formats speaks for itself as he had led the country to the World T20 title and then the ODI World Cup last year.

“His success for his franchise (CSK) is also commendable with two IPL titles and the Champions League T20. Overall, Dhoni is the best captain in the shorter versions. Gambhir is only captain of this year’s IPL winning team. So I feel the time has not come to compare Gambhir with Dhoni as far as captaincy is concerned,” Ganguly said.

With India hosting England and Australia in coming months, a rethink is necessary about Test cricket said Ganguly, who also heads the BCCI’s technical committee.

Stating that Anil Kumble  had pointed this out in the last working committee meeting of the Board, he said, “Hope they do something in the next working committee meeting. These are important issues.”

The Indian selectors had removed Gambhir from the vice-captaincy ahead of the Asia Cup, passing the baton to the left-hander’s young Delhi team-mate Virat Kohli.

Source: PTI