Gundappa Viswanath bats for captain Dhoni

Batting for skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, former India cricketer Gundappa Viswanath Wednesday refused to blame him for the team’s dismal performance in the recent past and hoped Team India would bounce back against the visiting Pakistanis.

“The controversy on whether Dhoni should be the captain or not, will go on. It will be inappropriate for me to comment on that. But as a captain, Dhoni has a good record except in the last few series,” Viswanath told mediapersons here.

Viswanath is among a host of former Indian and Pakistan players who have been invited by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) for a felicitation programme during the second ODI between India and Pakistan at the Eden Gardens here Thursday.

“We have also gone through a similar rough time to what Dhoni is going through right now. But at the same time it is not right to put the blame only on him. The fortunes of a team are not dependent on one man,” said the former stylish batsman.

Following back to back series losses against Australia and England abroad as also the recent drubbing in the home Test series against England, a host of former players have been critical of Dhoni’s captaincy and have been demanding his removal, especially from Test captaincy.

With India going to the crucial Eden Garden ODI against Pakistan one match down in the three-ODI series, Viswanath hoped the team will come good in the series.

“Hopefully India will come out with flying colours at the Eden. The players will have to apply themselves, especially the batsmen. The whole team will have to play well to ensure a win,” said Viswanath.

He said the team were going through a transition period and will come out of the slump soon.

“In sports, every team goes through this cycle but eventually come out of it. Some teams take longer like the West Indies while some teams come out of cycle quickly like the Australians have done. Hopefully India too will recover soon,” added Viswanath.