Ganguly sees Dhoni hand in Sehwag’s exclusion

Kolkata : Expressing surprise over the dropping of dashing India opener Virender Sehwag, former captain Sourav Ganguly Saturday said current team skipper M.S. Dhoni had a hand in the exclusion.

“It would be wrong to assume that there are no inputs from Dhoni in selection matters. If a captain asks for a particular player it is difficult for the selectors to say no. So I believe there were inputs from Dhoni even if he may not attend selection meetings,” said Ganguly.

“I am very surprised at his exclusion. If Sachin (Tendulkar) and Dhoni who have been struggling with their respective forms can be persisted with, then what’s wrong with Sehwag,” he asked.

Describing Sehwag as one of the all-time Test cricket greats, Ganguly said team India will miss his presence.

“He has completely changed the grammar of Test match opening. The sheer number of runs and the manner in which he has scored them, India will miss his presence. His impact in the game is comparable only to greats like Sachin, (Rahul) Dravid and (Sunil) Gavaskar,” he said.

The southpaw also refused to read much into the India’s consecutive Test match wins against Australia in the ongoing four match home series.

“People have a very short memory. I am amazed at some people lauding team India’s recent efforts. They seem to have forgotten that we were badly drubbed in 10 out of 13 test matches we last played,” he added.

Sehwag was Thursday dropped from the squad for the last two Tests against Australia, after failing to perform and impress the selectors.