Irfan Pathan Reckons Virat Kohli Has A Better Technique Than MS Dhoni To Bat At The No.3 Spot

Irfan Pathan, former Indian seam-bowling all-rounder, has weighed in on the debate as to whether MS Dhoni would have broken many more records, had he batted at the No.3 spot on a permanent basis in One-day International cricket.

Recently, former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir sparked a new point of discussion when he reckoned that MS Dhoni would break a plethora of records, had he batted consistently at No.3.

Irfan Pathan reckoned that Virat Kohli has a better technique than MS Dhoni to bat at the No.3 spot and it is unfair to compare the two. Pathan also said that Dhoni had all the opportunity to bat at No.3 but he himself chose not to.

“But MS had all the chance to bat at No. 3, he didn’t. Look, I really believe that if you compare Virat and Mahendra Singh Dhoni batting at No. 3, I still feel Virat has a better technique,” Irfan Pathan said on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’.

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‘I will still take Virat over MS Dhoni any day at the No.3 spot’- Irfan Pathan

MS Dhoni rose to fame while batting at the No.3 spot during an ODI against Pakistan at Vizag in 2005. The former captain shellacked the Pakistani bowling attack to the tune of 148 off 123 balls.

He bettered that with another belligerent innings [183] at the same position, six months later against Sri Lanka in Jaipur. Dhoni, however, continued to remain reluctant to bat at the No.3 spot, choosing to play the role of finisher instead.

Dhoni played 16 innings at No.3 in ODIs for the Men in Blue, in which he racked up 993 runs at a magnificent average of 82.75. The Indian captain batted at the No.6 spot for the major part of his career where he mastered the art of finishing the games for his country.

The former World Cup-winning captain accumulated 4164 runs at an average of 47.31 while batting at the No.6 spot.

Pathan hailed MS Dhoni as an absolute legend but reckoned that it was given the option to choose between Virat and MSD for the No.3 spot, he’ll pick the former any day.

“There’s nothing that I am taking away from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, obviously, he has been an absolute legend of the game. Everyone has their own opinion. I will still take Virat any day,” Irfan Pathan said.

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