Will Virat play Dhoni at number four when returns as captain?

Sanjay Bhatnagar

Lucknow: The absence of Virat Kohli from ODI and T20 cricket series against Sri Lanka proved to be a blessing in disguise for Mahendra Singh Dhoni whose promotion in batting order saw him reviving his career, in a way.

It was Rohit Sharma, the makeshift captain in the absence of Virat, not only played Dhoni up in the order and came out with an assertive statement that number four was the most suitable place for the maverick wicketkeeper-batsman. The message Rohit gave in the absence of Virat was loud and clear that the team wanted more and more of Dhoni as a batsman while his keeping agility is already beyond any doubt.

It was suddenly Dhoni all the way again and left cricket purists to start a debate afresh if match-finishing abilities of Dhoni were not being utilised fully by Virat Kohli. What was even more intriguing that Rohit said the team management and he always wanted Dhoni to play at number four while he played at number three in Cuttack T20 match on Friday. The team management is the same even when Virat was at the helm of the affairs till Test series against SL.

Also read: IND vs SL 2nd T20I: India secures 14th straight series victories

It is to be seen with curiosity if Virat when back as the skipper would play Dhoni at number four or the latter would find few overs to play out slog overs in ODI or T20. The suspense would be despite the fact that Virat depended lot upon Dhoni for his valuable experience and many occasions he was seen to consult the former indian captain in crunch situations.

Whatever comes to the fore in the near future, it is true that Dhoni was able to reinvent or displayed again his hitting and match finishing abilities with his trademark last-ball six in the first T20 against Sri Lanka.