India’s ODI vice-captain Rohit Sharma feels former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni should bat at four. Rohit, however, also believes Dhoni is ready to fit in anywhere for the team’s cause.
During the first ODI of the three-match series against Australia, Dhoni laboured to score a 96-ball 51 before departing as the visiting team lost by 34 runs at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Saturday.
The ICC World Cup 2019 is scheduled to be held in England in a few months and the question that whether MS Dhoni should be a part of India’s WC squad has been a topic of debate as the strike rate of the 37-year-old wicket-keeper batsman has gone down in the recent past.
“Personally, I always feel that Dhoni batting at number four will be ideal for the team but we have got Ambati Rayudu who has done really well now at number four. It totally depends on what the captain and coach think about it. Personally asking, I would be happy if Dhoni bats at four,” said Rohit Sharma after India’s loss in the first ODI.
Rohit Sharma, who scored 133 off 129 deliveries, has different views from his skipper Virat Kohli, who had advocated that Ambati Rayudu was his preferred No.4 batsman.
“If you look at his (Dhoni’s) overall batting, his strike rate is around 90. Today was a different scenario when he came out to bat we had already lost three wickets and Australia were bowling pretty well. You just cannot go out and get a 100-run partnership easily. So we took a little bit of time and even I did not score as quickly as I normally do,” Rohit Sharma added.
In the first ODI, Team India were reduced to four for the loss of three wickets by the fourth over while chasing a mammoth total of 289 runs.
After three early departures, Rohit Sharma stitched a 141-run stand with Dhoni for the fourth wicket.
“I took my time too because we wanted to get that partnership and losing another wicket at that point, the game would have been dead there and then. So, we had to play dot balls and build a partnership,” Rohit Sharma said, before adding, “It is pretty simple with him and he does not complicate things. We spoke about building a partnership because it was crucial at that point.”
Rohit further said, “It was great to see him come and bat at number five. We lost three wickets but he is keen to get those runs as well. Over the years, he has shown he is ready to bat anywhere for the team and score runs.”
When the 32-year-old stylish batsman was asked if India’s middle order was struggling to deliver, he said, “We knew we can put some of the bowlers under pressure. Unfortunately, we kept losing wickets at the wrong time; the first three wickets and then when we were going strong with that partnership, unfortunately, MS got out and then we knew it was going to be hard.”