Sourav Ganguly on Sunday sought to clarify his statement on Virender Sehwag’s ouster from the Test squad, saying he had never categorically stated that MS Dhoni had a hand in opener’s omission, says a report in The DNA.
A media report on Saturday had quoted Ganguly as saying that, Dhoni had a hand in his the player’s removal from the team and it also stated that if Sachin Tendulkar and Dhoni are being “persisted” despite poor run of form, then why not with Sehwag.
According to the report, Ganguly said, “It’s very difficult to say whether Dhoni has a hand in Sehwag’s exclusion but normally captains do have a say in team selection. That’s been the case with all captains, whether its me, Dravid, Tendulkar, Kumble, Dhoni, Azhar or captains around world cricket. They normally have an opinion and a say about team selection,” he stated.
Having said that Ganguly also said that the selectors do not always agree with the demands of a captain. “That doesn’t mean that captains’ opinion is taken all the time by the selectors. At times, they do listen and at times they don’t. So it’s very difficult to say whether Dhoni had a hand in Sehwag’s exclusion.”
Meanwhile according to a report in Indian Express, the priests of Deori Temple in Ranchi have credited to Ranchi's favourite boy Dhoni, saying his "success rate" on the cricket ground has given a boost to the number of devotees who throng Deori Temple at Tamar, about 60 km from here.
"The devotees have grown with the passage of time, thanks to Dhoni's frequent visits to the temple as the local hero cemented his place in the team and was elevated to the captaincy, remaining at the top by winning the two (T20/limited overs) World Cups and other matches," observed a temple priest.
During initial years, Dhoni was competing with Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel for the wicketkeeper-batsman's slot and his mighty big hundred against Pakistan in Visakhapatnam, sealed his position.
According to a report in Deccan Chronicle, Dhoni has been visiting the temple even before he made his debut in international cricket. "Whenever he went to Jamshedpur to play Ranji trophy, he made it a practice to seek the divine blessings at Deori..., he is one of those who have been consistent in their devotion to the temple," Suraj Mohan, a close friend of Dhoni said.
"Dhoni doesn't seek blessings only before a match, but also visits it whenever he is at home. Yesterday too he came and offered prayers. He has enormous faith in the deity of the temple," another temple priest Manoj Panda said.
"Nowadays, IAS/IPS officers, politicians and people from all walks of life are thronging the temple," he said.
