It Was Sachin Tendulkar's Idea to Send Dhoni at No.4 in World Cup Final: Virender Sehwag

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag revealed it was veteran Sachin Tendulkar’s idea to send Mahendra Singh Dhoni to bat at number four position in the 2011 World Cup Final.

Pertinently, Tendulkar was of the opinion that a right-hander should replace a right-hander. And a left-hander should replace a left-handed batsman to somewhat strike the balance.

As Virat Kohli was dismissed, wicketkeeper-batsman and the then skipper Dhoni was sent to continue the right and left-hand combination with Gautam Gambhir.

It was a gamble taken by the think tank as MS Dhoni wasn’t in the best of forms in the World Cup. However, Yuvraj Singh, who was pushed down the order was in the form of his life.

It was a masterstroke from the Master Blaster:

Sehwag reiterated while talking to Vikram Sathaye on his show What the Duck 3.

“We were sitting watching the final of 2011 World Cup when MS Dhoni came when Gautam and Virat were batting. Sachin told MS that if a lefty gets out then a lefty should go. While a right-handed batter should replace the right-handed batsman. Then Virat Kohli got out and in place of him, MS Dhoni went to bat,” Sehwag said.

Consequently, the rest is history as Dhoni scored an unbeaten 92 off just 79 balls. Gautam Gambhir also contributed with pivotal 97 runs as India went on to create history at the iconic Wankhede Stadium.

Furthermore, in the biopic of Dhoni, it was revealed that Dhoni himself wanted to bat at number four position. Dhoni’s philosophy behind the idea was that he didn’t want ace off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan to get settled in the match.

Meanwhile, Virender Sehwag also revealed Sachin also didn’t let him change his position in the dressing room throughout the whole final match.