Sourav Ganguly defends MS Dhoni as the wicket-keeper's knock against Afghanistan draws criticism

MS Dhoni's recent knock against Afghanistan has been the centre of several debates over the past few days. The former Indian skipper, who batted at the fifth position in the batting lineup on Saturday, fell prey to Rashid Khan after grinding his way to a 52-ball-28.

The veteran player found it difficult to rotate the strike against the Afghnaistan spinners as India looked choked down to score freely in the middle stages of the innings.

With the star wicketkeeper-batsman losing his way just when he was looking to tee off, his scoring rate apparently did not impress many.

Calling it a sluggish knock, several fans have been criticising Dhoni for consuming too many deliveries without scoring much. The issue gathered heat with former Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar too expressing his displeasure over Dhoni's scoring rate in the middle overs. Tendulkar's comments though irked a section of MSD's fans and led to a huge uproar on social media.

However, Dhoni and his fans have found support from another former Indian legend Sourav Ganguly. Defending the Jharkhand-based cricketer after his "sticky knock" against Afghanistan, the former Indian skipper opined that it was just one game where Dhoni looked patchy.

"At the end of the day, MSD is a very good batsman and he will definitely prove that in this year's World Cup 2019 as well despite his sticky form against Afghanistan. It's just one match,"Ganguly was quoted as saying by DNA.

India next face West Indies at Old Trafford on Thursday and will be looking to carry their winning momentum forward.

All eyes though, are likely to be on MS Dhoni and his batting approach in the aftermath of India's close win against Afghanistan. Expect the champion batsman to come good and work his magic yet again in Manchester.