Dhoni-Sehwag rift settled, says Ganguly

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday said that current skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virender Sehwag have settled their difference of opinion.

Talking to reporters at a programme here, Ganguly said he recently had a talk with Sehwag who told him that everything has been settled between him and Dhoni.

Reports of a rift between Dhoni and Sehwag had surfaced after the team management introduced a rotational policy for the three openers - Sachin Tendulkar, Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir - during the tri-series in Australia last month.

To a question on the perception that Dhoni does not give a chance to many players and likes to play with a fixed team, Ganguly said, "Every captain is different and no captain is perfect. May be Dhoni believes that this team can win because no captain wants to lose."

On whether he would have played Manoj Tiwary and Ashok Dinda if he were the captain of India, Ganguly said, "I probably would have given a chance to them but I hope Dhoni will also give a chance to these players."

"We have three good players in Bengal team - Manoj (Tiwary), (Ashok) Dinda and Wriddhiman (Saha). They are of international standard. So it's a good sign for Bengal. Apart from them there is also Mdohammad Sami who is also a good player."

Asked about the in-form Bengal all-rounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla's chances of playing for the national side, he said, "Laxmi is probably playing his best cricket now. He is an all-rounder which a team needs. If he plays some more good series then I am sure he will get in."

Shukla hit a century on Monday to singlehandedly guide the Ganguly-led Bengal to the Vijay Hazare Trophy title, thrashing heavyweights Mumbai by six wickets in the final.