Champions don't finish quickly: Ganguly on Dhoni

Mumbai: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday said the matter of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's future in international cricket will be addressed but vowed to accord the two-time World Cup winning captain respect during his tenure.

Ganguly said he doesn't now what is in Dhoni's mind but promised that a player of his stature will be accorded respect.

Dhoni has been on a sabbatical from international cricket since India's semifinal exit in the ODI World Cup, leading to speculations about his future.

"You know champions don't finish quickly. I don't know what's in his mind and what he thinks about his career. So we will deal with that you know," Ganguly said at his media conference after taking over as the board president.

"He is one of the greats of the game and India is proud to have MS Dhoni over a period of time. If you even sit down and take a note of what he has done, you say, 'Wow, MS Dhoni'," he said.

Legends of the game have often had unceremonious exit and Ganguly himself knows it more than anyone else how it feels to fight speculations and criticism.

I am around, everybody will be respected and that doesn't change," Ganguly said.

Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament starts on November 9 and it is still not clear if Dhoni will be playing that tournament in case he wants to make himself available for selection for the West Indies tour at the end of the year.