One of the best players in limited overs cricket, MS Dhoni is one player who can change the course of a game in a matter of a few overs. The batsman has captained India to all the trophies that can be won at international level and he is a fantastic character.
A big debate that has raged on for days is where to play Dhoni in the squad at the moment. While a lot of people feel he should be the number 4, there are some who think he is better down the order. Here’s a few reason the team should play him at number 4:
He takes time to get going
One of Dhoni’s self-admitted nuances while playing was the fact that he takes some time to settle in the crease before he can go for the big ones. Dhoni does not like to come and face just 15 or 20 balls and try to make the most of it.
Playing him at the number 4 position means that he can take his time to settle before going on to hit big in the last few overs.
He can control the game:
At number 4, Dhoni is in a better position to control the game owing to his ability to take charge of the situation. Number 4’s generally get to bat around 20 overs and he can easily start strategizing way in advance.
He has the ability to convert singles to twos and in the middle overs when things are getting slow, he is the perfect candidate to do that exact job.
He can control the others below:
As Dhoni is immensely experienced, he knows how to read a game better than anyone else. During his innings, he can help the others play their natural game and tell them to play the right way. This was best exhibited with Pandya and Bhuvneshwar recently.
Having Dhoni at the other end is a calming experience as he does not put you under any sort of pressure to finish off a game. Dhoni’s leading ability always comes to the fore and he knows he can help the others once he has settled.
His big-hitting ability is still good:
While Dhoni may have lost some of his ability to hit the big ones, it does not mean that he is not a dangerous striker of the ball. Once in his element, he can find the boundaries with ease as he has shown on multiple occasions off late.
He can still hit the big ones at the end of the innings as he has shown on multiple occasions and batting at number four gives him that time to blaze at the end of an innings.
