Sourav Ganguly wants MS Dhoni to bat at number four
What's the story
Former Indian cricket team captain, Sourav Ganguly thinks MS Dhoni is the ideal man to bat at the number four position for India.
With the ICC World Cup 2019 starting from May 30 onwards, Dada wants Dhoni to play at this position in the run-up to the coveted tournament.
Notably, Dhoni played a crucial role in India's first bilateral ODI series win in Australia.
ODI series
Dhoni showed his brilliance in the ODIs against Australia
Dhoni hadn't played much ahead of the series against Australia.
He came early in the first ODI after India were reeling at 4/3.
Dhoni scored a patient 96-ball 51 and shared a century-plus stand with Rohit Sharma.
Despite being criticized, he hit a match-winning 55* in the second ODI.
He was promoted to number four in the decider and responded by scoring 87*.
Twitter Post
Dhoni was adjourned the Player of the Series
51 in Sydney
— ICC (@ICC) January 18, 2019
55* in Adelaide
87* in Melbourne@msdhoni is the Player of the Series! #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/VBdzXt9MsE
Views
Dhoni played like this after a long time: Dada
Speaking to India TV, Dada said that Dhoni showed his usual self with the bat after a long time.
"The way Dhoni has batted in the series...we have seen him play like this after a long time. India have played well and again won a series 2-1 after being 1-0 down," Ganguly said.
He added that the series will give him immense confidence.
Twitter Post
Do you agree with Ganguly?
Sourav Ganguly wants #Dhoni to bat at number four in World Cup, do you agree? #WorldCup2019
— NewsBytes (@NewsBytesApp) January 19, 2019
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'Adelaide innings gave Dhoni a lot of confidence'
"A lot was said about Dhoni after the Adelaide ODI, where he batted slow but we spoke about how the innings will give him confidence and that is exactly what happened," said the former India captain.
Dada's choice
Dada picks his middle order batting options for India
Dada revealed his thoughts regarding the ideal middle order of India.
"I think Kedar will play number five and Dhoni will play at number four. So I think India will go with this combination only because you gave someone an opportunity and they grabbed it. So Kohli at three, Dhoni (four) and Jadhav at number five followed by Karthik."
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Number four is right for Dhoni: Dada
"Number four is right for Dhoni because it gives him time to settle in and score runs and build an innings," said Dada. One would get a clear picture about India's XI in the upcoming series against New Zealand.
Number four
India's number four position is still not settled
Recently, Indian team vice-captain Rohit had also stated that he would prefer MS at the number four position.
This has been a problematic position for India since the last couple of years.
The management had identified Ambati Rayudu as the ideal choice, but after his twin failures against Australia, India tried a different combination at the MCG.
The position is still not settled.
Information
Our ideal playing XI for the World Cup
Our ideal playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (captain), MS Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.