MS Dhoni hints that he may drop the idea of batting at No 4 in ODIs
MS Dhoni hinted that he might revert back to batting at the No 5 or No 6 spot on a regular basis in ODI cricket, ESPNCricinfo. The Indian skipper, who had said before the start of the ongoing India-South Africa series that he would like to bat higher up the order, preferably at the No 4 spot, feels his presence is much more needed in the lower order.
After coming in for sharp criticism due to his failure to see the team through in the 1st ODI at Kanpur, the 34-year-old silenced his critics in the best possible manner playing a match-winning knock of 92 runs that helped India recover from a precarious looking 124/6 to 247 in their 50 overs. Satisfied with his innings after coming in to bat at the No 5 spot, Dhoni hinted that he might continue in the same position or even further down the order.
"I would say more about my side of the story," Dhoni said. "If you see once I left Test cricket, I thought 'Now I am going to enjoy my ODI cricket, I want to bat up the order'. But when I come over here, I see my team, I see the playing XI and I find it very difficult to promote myself because we have that pressure of who is going to bat at No.6, who is going to bat at No.7?”
Dhoni talked about the importance of having a lower order that would be able to contribute with the bat as well and with India’s current inadequacies in that department, the Indian skipper feels he should be leading from the front.
"And if you see stretches of cricket where teams have done well, the lower order has contributed a lot irrespective of the format. Your lower order needs to perform. So that was the reason I came back over here and I am still batting at No.5 or 6 because I find it really difficult; I can't really put too much pressure on some of the other youngsters in the side. After playing so many ODIs, if I can't do it, there are not many who will be able to do it. It's something that I have to do," he said.
Elaborating more on his match-winning knock, Dhoni explained the thoughts that were going through his mind once he came to the middle with India struggling at 82/3, before they suffered further setbacks and were reduced to 124/6.
"I felt we needed partnerships at that point of time," he said. "Once we lost Rahane and a few other wickets fell, I was thinking, 'Maybe I should play the big shot. I am not sure how long the lower order batsmen will survive with me.' But that was the period I said, 'No. Let's look to play a few more deliveries. Let's look to play 50 overs and if a few more wickets fall, maybe [if it had been] the last couple of wickets [that were left] I will look to hit, but it was important that we got some kind of partnership going at that point of time," Dhoni said.