A case for MS Dhoni to bat higher in the batting order

MS Dhoni had established himself in the ODI side in 2005 on the back of a Man of the Series performance against Sri Lanka at home. He scored 346 runs after getting dismissed just thrice in that 7-match series. Dhoni was hailed for his clean striking and his ability to adapt to different situations instead of being willy-nilly about playing his ‘natural game’.

Fast forward to 2017, Dhoni is much more abstemious than he was during his younger days. Aged 36, his reflexes are waning. He is still one of the fittest going around in world cricket, mind you but the ability to deposit the ball into the stands with ease has started diminishing. In the era of technology and video analysis, bowlers have found a way to keep the Indian stumper quiet by bowling full and wide at him. This doesn’t mean that Dhoni is struggling to hit sixes; he has 16 sixes to his name this year, 7 more than last year and just 6 less than 2014 and 2015 collectively.

Dhoni at No. 7 not helping anyone

He has tweaked his technique a wee bit. He makes an exaggerated initial movement to move across the stumps to get closer to the balls pitched wide of him. The 36-year old has also started wearing the three strapped pads instead of the two strapped ones which he wore during his entire career. This might be helping him flex his front knee freely which might be allowing him to transfer his weight better onto the ball, according to cricket expert Aakash Chopra. When stars start aging, the fear of failure increases which is happening with Dhoni. He has had a stellar run since he relinquished captaincy in January earlier this year but he tends to take a bit of time to get into his innings. In the last two series, against Sri Lanka and Australia, India have batted him mostly at No. 6. With Kohli giving Pandya a run at No.4 in the last two games, Dhoni was demoted to the No. 7 slot. It is the same slot which gave him recognition as a hard-hitting batsman during his initial days in international cricket but is he suited to bat at No. 7 anymore?

Comparison between Dravid and Dhoni

The Bengaluru game on Thursday pointed out that Dhoni may no longer be suited batting so low down the order. You would rather want a Hardik Pandya at the crease when 34 are required off 14 balls than having Dhoni, who is happy to play second-fiddle in the twilight of his international career. The Dhoni of today could do what Rahul Dravid did for India in ODIs between 2005 and 2007. The Karnataka batsman sandwiched himself between power players and controlled the innings in the middle overs. He also played attacking innings whenever the situation demanded it, the 63-ball 92* at Bristol in 2007 being a prime example. During that period, Dravid scored 2834 runs at 40 and at a strike rate of 76, both considered excellent a decade ago. Dhoni has scored 1566 runs at 47 while having a strike rate of 85 in the last three years. While Dravid batted mostly at No. 4 and No. 5, Dhoni has been largely sent at No. 6 and 7 in the last 3 years.

Kohli has hinted that Pandya might be a permanent No. 4 going forward. That will leave India slightly thin on power during the slog overs. India must give Dhoni a go at No. 4 or 5 to get the best out of the former captain. He can build an innings, rotate the strike in the middle overs, guide the younger players in the middle and then explode in the last few overs. His record at these positions is impressive as well. In 93 innings collectively at 4 and 5, Dhoni has amassed 3,916 runs at a stellar average of 55. All that at a strike rate of 90. That is a record to be proud of and must be taken note of.

Record of batsmen tried at No. 4 and 5 since WC 2015

It is not that the batsmen who have batted at these positions have set the stage alight. Since the conclusion of the 2015 World Cup, India has tried 10 different batsmen at No. 4, the latest one being Pandya. Out of the lot, Yuvraj has the best average for batsmen who have made more than 300 runs at No. 4 in this period which is largely due to his knock of 150 against England which makes up almost 42 % of the runs he has scored in 9 innings at two drop. If you remove that knock, Yuvraj’s average plummets to an appalling 29.71. Dhoni is the next best in terms of average. He has 313 runs at 39.12 at this position.

At No. 5, the statistics are worse. Barring Dhoni, not a single batsman averages more than 33. The Jharkhand cricketer has made 624 runs in 15 innings at an outstanding average of 52 during this period. His strike rate of 89.14 is marvelous as well. The next best in terms of average is Jadhav, who is currently being used at No. 5 in the ongoing series against Australia. He averages 32.66 after 6 innings largely due to the 67 he scored last night against Australia.

Numbers don’t reveal everything but they do tell you a story. Dhoni has averaged close to 47 collectively batting at 4 and 5 in the last two years, which is way better than the rest of the pack. Captaincy is all about getting the best out of your players and Kohli isn’t doing that in Dhoni’s case. The wicketkeeper-batsman is India’s 4th highest run-getter in ODI history, 12th overall, but has batted just 17 times in the 22 games he has played in 2017. In these 17 innings, he remained unbeaten 4 times after facing less than 15 balls which means that he got a full-fledged opportunity to bat on just 13 occasions out of 22 which is barely 60 %. Dhoni is one of the best ODI batsmen India has ever produced and must be given more opportunities as his skills and experience are being frittered too often.

His place in the side is absolutely unquestionable and he is a certainty for the 2019 World Cup because he ticks the box as far as fitness is concerned. His form this year has been outstanding and seldom does he spurn a chance behind the stumps. Yes, he is chary at the start of his innings but has enough power to make up for a slow start like he did in the first ODI in Chennai, where he lifted India from the doldrums and exploded at the end to help them amass a big total.