'Dhoni under pressure as environment of team dressing room is bad'

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Ranchi, June 23: India captain MS Dhoni is under pressure and unable to perform at his best as the current atmosphere in the dressing room is "bad", according to his former coach.

Dhoni, who is under heavy criticism following the ODI series loss to Bangladesh, has offered to step down from captaincy. But several former cricketers have rallied around the wicketkeeper-batsman and wants him to stay on.

On Monday (June 22), Dhoni's former personal coach Chanchal Bhattacharya revealed that the skipper was under "mental pressure".

"He is unable to deliver his best because of mental pressure and because of the dressing room's environment as well as the media. I haven't spoken to him but I feel the environment of the dressing room is bad," Bhattacharya told "ANI" news agency.

"I don't know the inside story but we have seen Dhoni play and fight till the last over. If one's mind is not at peace, then it is impossible to play.

"It was for the first time that India lost so badly against Bangladesh. As far as MS Dhoni is concerned, he gave a statement yesterday (Sunday) that if the BCCI wants, he can play as a player. Whosoever be the captain, winning the game for the country is more important," he added.

India, having already lost the 3-match series 0-2 to Bangladesh, will be hoping to sign off with a victory in the final ODI tomorrow (June 24) at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur.

Watch the video of Chanchal Bhattacharya's comments here

OneIndia News