MS Dhoni has not been in the best of form in recent times, having gone past 50 only twice so far in 2015. He also struggled for runs in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015. Shiamak Unwalla feels he might benefit from batting higher up the order against Bangladesh.
MS Dhoni is one batsman who never seems to be in poor form. Even when the big hits do not come, he is capable of racing between the wickets to steal sharp ones and twos. Along with Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina, Dhoni is probably the fastest runner between the wickets in the Indian side — an extremely impressive fact given his age.
However, one slightly worrying aspect has been his inability to play the big shots like he used to. Ever since India’s tour of England in 2014, that one trademark aspect of Dhoni’s batting seems to be missing. This does not mean he has been in poor form; he averages 45.62 in ODIs since January 2014 at a strike rate of 89.35. READ: Can Test retirement bring back the aggressive version of MS Dhoni
The runs have been coming; but not in the manner we are used to. Dhoni had the ability to bring out a big hit at any given time, especially at the death. As long as Dhoni was in the middle, the match was never truly over despite the runs remaining or the wickets in hand. That aura around Dhoni has diminished recently.
At this stage in Dhoni’s career, he might not be able to play the shots he used to, when he used to. Given that the likes of Ravindra Jadeja are not performing well with the bat down the order, he has to rein himself in even further. In such a scenario, it might make sense for him to bat slightly higher up the order. READ: MS Dhoni ready to bat as per demands of situation
Dhoni does not like a lot of shuffling, be it in terms of batting order or team composition. But if the runs are not coming like they used to, he could consider batting at No. 4 or 5, and bringing in someone like Stuart Binny as additional backup lower down the order, perhaps at the cost of Mohit Sharma.
If that happens, Dhoni could take his time early on and control the innings earlier than he is used to. Given that he is still among the swiftest between the wickets, he need not play any undue big hits until and unless he feels the need to. Unlike most batsmen, this will not bog him down since he will ensure the runs keep coming in singles and twos. READ: MS Dhoni most successful Indian captain ever, says Virat Kohli
Having batted for longer than he usually does before the need to explode, he will then be in a position to dictate terms to the bowlers toward the latter half of the innings. There are few batsmen better than Dhoni in terms of thinking while batting, so he will be uniquely equipped to deal with the situation in such a scenario.
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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