Asia Cup 2018: Should Rohit Sharma Give a Chance to MS Dhoni at Number Four Position?

India team management has enjoyed playing the musical chair game with the number four batting position. In fact, India has tried their hands at ten batsmen at the same position since the 2015 World Cup, however, they haven’t been able to pay dividends. MS Dhoni is also amongst those ten batters, as the former Indian skipper has scored 320 runs in the nine innings at an average of 35.6. We saw Rohit Sharma promoting MS Dhoni to the number four position in the Nidahas Trophy. Will he do it again?

There would no Virat Kohli in the Asia Cup. Thus, India will want a experience batsman in the middle order and Dhoni checks all the boxes. However, Dhoni’s strike rate hasn’t been the best at the position as he scores 77.1 runs per hundred balls while batting at the number four place.

Meanwhile, we have seen MS Dhoni has struggled with his batting performance in the recent past. Dhoni has failed to rotate the strike at the beginning of his innings, especially against the spinners. Thus, the hard-hitting batsman needs some time before he can change gears.

Why should Rohit Sharma promote MS Dhoni up the order?

India has tried the likes of KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav at the number four place. One thing that is common in these names is Inexperience. However, Dhoni brings a plethora of experience with him. In fact, it is well said that Old is Gold. And Dhoni has been a Diamond for India.

It is noted that Dhoni needs his time before he gets settled. He starts his innings in the traditional way, as he puts his knock in the first gear. The old MS Dhoni who used to start his inning in the topmost gear is long gone.

Dhoni had the ability to hit the ground running from the get-go. Therefore, we must respect the current Dhoni we have, like the way we cherished the older version of Dhoni.

In fact, there is no doubt that MS Dhoni power-hitting capabilities are on the wane. Interestingly, we have noticed a similar pattern with Sachin Tendulkar. The Master Blaster strike rate dropped down in the fag end of his career.

Thus, promoting him up the order will give him more deliveries to settle into his groove. In fact, the game has drastically changed in the last five years and Dhoni knows he cannot play at a tortoise speed.

Meanwhile, there is no doubt that over the fitness of MS Dhoni. The talisman is still fit as a fiddle and can run his runs at a lightning speed.

On the other hand, if Rohit Sharma gives a promotion to MS Dhoni in the batting line-up, batsmen like Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya will need to bat with more responsibility.

MS Dhoni has all the experience to deliver the goods.

One more factor that can push Rohit Sharma to send MS Dhoni at number four position is Dhoni’s performance in the IPL. Yes, it was a T20 format and the International arena is a different ball game altogether.

But we must understand the pattern. Dhoni batted freely, he took on the opposition from the word go and he produced consistent runs. It was like the old Dhoni was back and back with a bang.

Dhoni’s pyrotechnics are well known to everyone and it takes one good inning to get back into form. However, the Indian think tank should understand that moving Dhoni in the batting line-up should not be a one-off game strategy.

He should be given ample opportunities before coming to a conclusion. In fact, even if it is not Dhoni, Indian team management should stop playing the musical chair game with number four position.

The next year World Cup is less than a year away and India must find answers to their biggest Achilles Heel in the batting line-up. Constant changing and chopping will not help them in finding a solution to their woes.

High Time for India to find a solution to their Achilles Heel.

MS Dhoni has batted at number six position for most of his career. He has an average of above 50 while batting at a position where a batsman is always expected to get quick runs – whether it is chasing a target or setting up one.

Thus, it goes to show that Dhoni has finished a lot of matches for India. In fact, Dhoni has been not out on 78 occasions which is the maximum in the ODI format.

Therefore, he has played a role of a finisher with great success. There is no doubt that he can do justice to the number four place as well.

Furthermore, Dhoni was able to cement his place in the Indian team when Sourav Ganguly had promoted him up the order. Dhoni had played some match-winning innings while batting in the middle order and he still has some fuel in the tank left to come up with some special performances.

Dhoni has been a Champion batsman in the limited overs format and Champions rise when the odds are against them. So don’t rule out India’s biggest linchpin yet.