Dhoni’s leadership makes India T20 favourites: Ganguly

KOLKATA - The outstanding leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni makes India the favourites for retaining the Twenty20 World Cup title, former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly said here Wednesday.

Ganguly said though the slam bang variety of the game was full of uncertainties, India had a head start over the others because of Dhoni, who has marshalled his troops brilliantly.

“Dhoni has been fabulous. In these couple of years since he took over as the captain, he has produced excellent results for the team and that too, at a very young age of 27. At the same time, he’s not afraid of trying out certain things that might appear unconventional.

“To be precise, a captain is just as good as his team,” Ganguly told mediapersons on the sidelines of a programme announcing his initiation as sports commentator for the television channel ESPN at the Twenty20 extravaganza in England.

Ganguly expressed concern over the absence of injured pacer Zaheer Khan but was hopeful of the national squad successfully defending the crown they lifted two eyars back in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa.

“The ones that played in the previous edition are more experienced in the T20 format. On the previous occasion as well, they had beaten top sides like Australia and South Africa en route the title. And looking at the team’s current figures, it has handled pressure really well,” he added.

The Twenty20 World Cup begins Friday.