Time for Dhoni, the 'ex-finisher', to come up at no. 4?

Fifty-two undefeated runs off 28 balls, at a strike rate of 185.71. Four fours and three sixes. Amazing numbers, one would say. But anybody who watched the second T20I between India and South Africa would know Mahendra Singh Dhoni's innings was far from convincing. Two of the boundaries came off genuine edges, and the second six came after Junior Dala dropped a dolly on the boundary.

The former Indian skipper may have been rested for the Nidahas Twenty20 Tri-series—other two teams being Sri Lanka and Bangladesh—starting March 6, but his batting position has been subjected to much debate. 

Dhoni retired from Test cricket midway through the tour of Australia in 2014. And three years later, he quit as the ODI and T20I captain, handing over the reins to Virat Kohli.

The 36-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman, who usually comes in at number 6, is now a shade of his former self with the bat lower down the order. His inability to start hitting from the word go and rotate strike regularly have often hurt Team India towards the end of the innings in the limited overs format. Take the recent India-South Africa ODI series, for instance. His scores in the four matches he batted were 4* (3 balls), 10 (22), 42* (43) and 13 (17). That India won the series 5-1 was largely due to skipper Kohli's heroics—558 runs in six matches—and that of spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.

Last year, in December, after Dhoni and Manish Pandey guided India to a 93-run win in the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Cuttack, stand-in captain said no. 4 is “ideal” for the wicketkeeper-batsman in T20Is. In ODIs, too, statistics suggest that the position is suited for him—an average of 55.90 and a strike rate of 94.98. With Team India looking at Ajinkya Rahane as an opener option, it is only logical that Dhoni is promoted to no. 4, which will allow him more time to get his eye in.

Let's have a look at the past two years when he has batted mostly at no. 5, 6 and 7. 2016 was a dismal year for Dhoni in ODIs, where he batted in fifth and sixth positions in eight of the 13 matches he played. He averaged only 27.80 with a strike rate of 80.11. Last year, he fared much better at the three positions, with an average of 60.61 with a strike rate of 84.73 in 29 ODIs. 

In contrast, Kedar Jadhav had a strike rate of 115.67 and an average of 45.25 batting at the same positions in 22 matches of the 40 he played last year. Another promising all-rounder Hardik Pandya, too, had a high strike rate of 126.79 and an average of 37, batting at no. 5, 6 and 7. In ODI cricket, a quick-fire 35 or 40 runs towards the end of the innings can make all the difference. 

It would be unfair to compare the veteran cricketer with Jadhav or Pandya, but it's a fact that Dhoni is no longer the cool 'finisher' who would invariably take the game to the last over and finish it off in style. Though still one of the fittest players in the Indian team and the shrewdest cricketing brains in the world, Dhoni's struggles with the bat have often hurt the Indian team in the recent past.

One innings that readily comes to the mind is his 114-ball 54 against the West Indies at North Sound in July last year. India went down by 11 runs and Dhoni couldn’t quite be the finisher that day. Another case in point is the T20I against New Zealand in Rajkot, which India lost by 40 runs. Though Dhoni eventually scored 49 (37 balls), he was guilty of denying Kohli (65 off 42 balls) the strike while there was a chance of winning the match. Much of his runs came after the match was well out of India's grasp. It led to the usually-calm V.V.S. Laxman, who was a commentator in the match, to urge Dhoni to “give youngsters a chance”.

So, who are these “youngsters”? Probably not Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel, who have been in the mix since Dhoni's debut in 2004. Wriddhiman Saha, who replaced the former skipper in the Test side, is definitely a better wicketkeeper but is yet to fully realise his potential with the bat, especially as a big-hitter down the order. 

But there are two youngsters who have shown a lot of promise—Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson. Pant is considered by many as Dhoni's natural successor because of his aggressive batting. The 20-year-old lad from Uttarakhand scored the fastest T20 century (in 32 balls) by an Indian in January this year. In fact, Pant has been in red-hot form early this year with four consecutive half-centuries in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. With a strike rate of 163.58 and an average of 31.70 in T20s, and by fine-tuning his skills behind the wicket, he can be an asset in the shorter form of the game. Though not as flamboyant as Pant, Samson is a player to watch out for. The 23-year-old Malayali has grown by leaps and bounds under the watchful eyes of Rahul Dravid while they were with the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. He, however, hasn't been really able to translate the success at the international level.

Dhoni might be found wanting with the dives and in collecting throws from the deep cleanly, but, with his lightning-quick stumpings and street-smart methods to run out opposition players, he is still more than a handful behind the wicket. This, coupled with his experience, has convinced skipper Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri to support the veteran player wholeheartedly, at least till the 2019 World Cup. 

If a player with more than 300 ODIs, close to a 100 T20Is, two World Cups and one Champions Trophy as captain, under his belt feels he has more to contribute to the team in limited-overs format, the team has to respect it. The irony, though, is that it is widely believed that Dhoni had eased out three seniors from the team as captain because they were slow movers on the field and were costing the team runs. And now, Dhoni, with his sluggish batting down the order, is putting the pressure on the other lower order batsmen. So, move up or move aside, Mahi?