Reasons why Dhoni should bat at number four for India in ODIs
In spite of high percentage of wins in recent times, Team India's concern for a stable batsman at number four goes on. We have seen of late, that the team management has tried out various individuals at that position, but none of them could actually prove that they can shoulder that responsibility.
According to the Chairman of the national selection committee, MSK Prasad, they are going to look at all options before deciding on the squad for any major event (read 2019 World Cup). Prasad said, “The team management and all of us in the selection committee are definitely concerned about it. And that’s the reason we are trying (make a decision) before a big event comes up or before we finalise the final squad for a major event."
India's loss to Srilanka in the first ODI can be termed as a huge defeat and a humiliating one for the hosts. Srilanka completely dismantled the inexperienced Indian middle order after dismissing the openers cheaply. Virat Kohli's absence was surely felt but a slight change in the batting order could have saved the day for India.
MS Dhoni's experience must be used properly to anchor the innings smoothly and get out of these difficulties. Dhoni came in at number six and did not receive any help from the other batsmen to take India to a respectable score. He scored 65 runs out of India's total of 112 runs.
Ahead of the upcoming overseas tour's and considering the sort of pitches to be encountered, MS Dhoni must be promoted up the order to number 4 and Manish Pandey should bat at number five.
Rahane considered as an opener by team management
In recent times, we have seen Manish Pandey, Kl Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav and Ajinkya Rahane bat at number four. It wouldn't be wrong to say that except Rahane none of them worked well.
Rahane had scored four successive half centuries in the ODIs against Australia, but was still left out for the first ODI against Srilanka. Stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma admitted that the team management considers him to be a specialist opening batsman and wants to keep him in that position.
Struggling Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey has struggled to find form and has not made any big impact since he was included in the team. While batting at number four, he has scored 183 runs in seven innings at an average of 36.60. He has also batted at number six in five innings scoring 137 runs at an average of 45.67. The best batting position for Pandey though, in terms of batting average is the number five, where he has scored 110 runs at 55.00.
According to his performances that have been seen, he does best when batting at number five and hence India must keep it that way. He does have a tenndecy of getting carried away while batting at number four. In multiple occassions in the recent past, he has thrown his wicket away trying something fancy which builds pressure on the following batsmen at number five and number six.
Injury woes for Rahul
KL Rahul made a comeback into the test squad this year after an injury and has looked out of form since then. His batting averages when batting at any position apart from one and two, are a dismal 4.00, 17.00 and 7.00. Based on the numbers it would be a good decision to leave out him for the ODI squad against South Africa.
The wicket-keeper batsman hasn't proved his worth still
Dinesh Karthik is a good choice at number four. Looking at his career stats, he has a healthy average of 39.71 over 12 innings but after his comeback against the Kiwis, he has scores of 37, 64*, 4* and 0 in four recent matches. With him at number four on overseas pitches, India will be taking a huge risk as his technique seems to be lacking in testing conditions. He was dismissed LBW against Sri Lanka at Dharamshala because he lost his balance going into the drive and got stuck in an awkward position resulting in ball hitting the leg first.
Dhoni the saviour
MS Dhoni brings immense experience and understanding of the game to the Indian side. His career stats are testimony to the fact that he has batted at number six for most of his career. Though he has a better average at batting at number four. He averages 58.24 over 26 innings, which is far ahead of all the other contenders for the slot. Having Dhoni at that position will also help in strengthening the batting line-up. Dhoni knows how to tackle difficult situations, like the one India faced in the encounter against Sri Lanka, and will be the perfect option to bat at four. He can anchor the innings being from that position and can stop or disrupt the free fall of wickets at the other end in seaming conditions.
In the post match presentation after the game against Sri Lanka, Rohit Sharma admitted that Dhoni knows his job well and also has an expertise in tackling tough situations. Therefore, it will be most beneficial for India if he is given a fair chance of batting at number four.