Mahendra Singh Dhoni Needs to Think Better as a Test Captain: Sourav Ganguly

When he led India with aplomb, Sourav Ganguly always said "he was as good as his team." Ganguly, now a well-respected critic of the game, led a team of legends and his out-of-the-box thinking and strategies made him one of the top captains in the game. Post India's 3-1 defeat in the recently-concluded Test series in England, Ganguly feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni has a lot of work to do to lead in the five-day format.

India will play their next Test series at home against the West Indies in October-November. While leading at home and against lower-ranked teams is a relatively easier job, Ganguly is worried about Team India's fate during the tour of Australia starting December.

Writing for a website, Ganguly said: "Dhoni has to find out a way to play Test cricket overseas because his record in last four years has not been good. He will embark on another difficult tour of Australia in two months' time for a four-Test series. It is going to be even harder than it was in England and hopefully even he can find some time to regroup and reinvent to find a lot of things for India."

Ganguly has often been compared with Dhoni as to who is India's most successful captain. While Ganguly hates to be compared saying captaincy is a "generation" thing, the former left-hander who has scored 7212 runs in 113 Tests, feels Dhoni's captaincy in England has lacked imagination.

"He has to have a hard look at himself. His batting has improved in overseas conditions but his captaincy has left a lot to be desired. I think as a captain of India, he needs to reassess himself honestly.

"There will be people who will be criticising you; there will be people who would try to tell you that this is what you need to do. I think they all want the team to do well. I think his tactics and his adaptability has fallen short. He needs to be a bit more inventive. He needs to take quick decisions if he wants to come back as a good captain in Test matches."

Ganguly is backing Dhoni to lead India at least till the 2015 World Cup in Australia-New Zealand. Dhoni has already won the BCCI's backing and that should be comforting.

Sunil Gavaskar has pointed out that India's Test humiliation in England will be swept under the carpet. This has happened before when Dhoni lost eight overseas Test matches on-the-trot in 2011 in England and Australia. The selectors are unlikely to topple Dhoni from the hotseat. Not after Mohinder Amarnath was axed from the selection committee when he wanted Dhoni sacked after the 2011 debacle.