Harsha Bhogle has his say on India's middle-order issues

The ODI series between England and India came to a close yesterday. The hosts won the series 2-1 after losing the first match at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Eoin Morgan and Co romped to triumphs at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground and Headingley respectively to clinch the series.

During the matches, the Men in Blue had their fair share of problems, MS Dhoni’s batting is one of them. He scored 37 and 42 runs respectively but hasn’t been able to accelerate in the hour of need. He played at a rather bizarre strike-rate of 63.20 and was a recipient of a fair amount of flak from the public.

India’s number four position has been a conundrum for quite a while now. Harsha Bhogle, the renowned cricket presenter, threw light on Dhoni’s batting position and the role he should be provided. He also focused on the team’s issues in the middle-order, especially number four slot.

He’s not doing it with the bat

“India came into this tournament, looking pretty settled, deciding who the number four should be. You’ve tried Yuvraj, Rahane, Manish Pandey and so many others and then India went back towards the end to back Dinesh Karthik and tried KL Rahul. Number 4 is open and I find that staggering in a country with so much talent,” Bhogle was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

“Suresh Raina has been around since 2006. He has been a fantastic white-ball cricketer for India but is he still pulling his weight in the side. I love the attitude that Raina brings to a game, but I’m afraid, the answer to that has to be a no. MS Dhoni at six, it’s very difficult to say that about a legend, but he’s not doing it with the bat.

With Dhoni, there’s a couple of things. Dhoni is also the spin-bowler’s captain standing up. He allows Virat Kohli to go back in the deep and can Dhoni find a new role for himself. He can bat at number four, gets the time or does he just go in at six, seven and start to slog around. But India need to find a solution to MS Dhoni. He’s a legend, he’s too big a player. The decision has to be taken around now,” he added.

After a rather indifferent ODI series, Virat Kohli and his troops will play a five-match Test series. The squad for the same has been announced today. The first Test is scheduled to take place at Edgbaston in Birmingham on August 1. Last time around, India lost the series 3-1 and would be hoping to make amends in their upcoming five-day fixtures.

[interaction id=”5b4efa4e96df427efeb00a0d”]

For more news and developments, stay tuned on CricTracker.com.