Analysing MS Dhoni's ideal batting position for India in ODIs

Dhoni has once again started batting at number 4

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s decision to promote himself to number 4 in the batting order in the recently concluded ODI series against Bangladesh reignited the debate on what is the best batting position for the inspirational skipper. Being a talented and aggressive batsman known for his unorthodox and not-so-elegant batting style, has batted in various roles in his ODI career, with considerable success in different positions.

His performances with the bat for India A in 2003/04 season caught the attention of the Indian team management at a time when the national side required a wicket-keeper who could also contribute with the bat. Rahul Dravid had temporarily taken on the responsibility in the build up to the 2003 World Cup, but the management knew they needed to bring in a recognized wicket-keeper for the long term.

Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel competed with Dhoni for the wicket-keeper batsman role in the national side, but the charismatic keeper’s knocks of 148 against Pakistan and 183* against Sri Lanka sealed the spot for the player from Ranchi and he would go on to be soon appointed deputy to India skipper Rahul Dravid and later appointed the India captain.

After announcing his arrival to world cricket with a brand of fearless and attacking batting, he evolved his playing style with which he could best contribute to the Indian team’s cause. Despite his top 2 highest scores in his ODI career coming at number 3 position, he soon moved lower down the order to be able to bat in the slog overs while batting first, and to play the role of the finisher when the team would be chasing. The crucial knock of 91* against Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup final to lead the side’s successful chase of the target came at number 5.

Number of ODI innings by position for MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni’s ODI batting stats by position

The Indian ODI team has seen the emergence of new batting talent after the retirement/fading away of the more experienced players (Tendulkar, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj), and Dhoni has been largely batting at number 5 or 6 with the likes of Kohli, Rohit and Raina often doing the bulk of scoring to set up the match for him to finish off by coming in later in the innings.

Number of innings by position for Dhoni since 2014

Dhoni’s ODI batting stats since 2014

Where should MS Dhoni bat in the ODIs?

It is highly unlikely that we will see him open the innings for India in an ODI again or he will bat in a position as low as number 8, with the player not having played in either position after 2006.

The knocks of 148 and 183* while batting at the number 3 spot were a decade ago, but the fans will be delighted to see a repeat of the carnage in the two innings in which Dhoni tore apart the Pakistani and Sri Lankan bowling attacks. However, with Kohli having made the number 3 position in the batting order as his, it means that there is very remote likelihood of seeing him bat at the spot at which he made the world take note of him.

The last time he batted at number 7 was in 2012, when he made a fighting knock of 113* in a game which India lost, but his innings gave India a chance to come back in the game after being restricted to 29/5. Stats show that he has done well while batting at this position, often with some good rearguard action, but given his experience and batting calibre, we shouldn’t envisage the India captain batting at number 7 except in exceptional circumstances.

As the stats show, he has batted the maximum part of his ODI career at either number 5 or number 6, playing the role of the finisher coming in at the lower middle order positions. While he has generally played in the number 6, coming in after the 5 recognized batsmen, he hasn’t been averse to promote himself as the demands of the situation – best illustrated in the 2011 World Cup final.

However, in an attempt to change the team’s fortunes against Bangladesh in the second ODI in the recently concluded series, he came in at number 4 – a spot in which he didn’t play much after the early years in international cricket, and his last appearance at the spot was in 2012.

Dhoni boasts a healthy average and strike-rate (99.41) at number 4, which are comparable to his brilliant stats at number 3 (SR of 99.69). Additionally he holds the record of the highest average by a player at number 4 in ODI history (minimum 1000 runs scored at the batting position).

The promotion up the order yielded mixed returns, as India won and lost one game each in the 2 games against Bangladesh to lose the series, but his individual performance with the bat was good, and that sparked off speculation on whether he should make the number 4 slot his own. Given that he has recently retired from Test cricket to focus on ODIs, maybe he was considering spending some time in the middle with the bat in the ODIs in an attempt utilize his experience to hold the innings together.

However, the promotion up the order came at a cost as India had to drop one of their brightest batting prospects - Ajinkya Rahane - from the team, a move which was only temporary given the promising performances by the player in recent past and Rahane is likely to be a vital member in the Indian team for the next few years.

Similarly, the Indian team also needs the southpaw Suresh Raina to be playing in the top 5, more importantly as the only other left-hander in the batting unit apart from Shikhar Dhawan. Hence the team’s interests are likely to be served best if the soon-to-be 34-years-old Dhoni to be slotted to come in after Rahane and Raina in the familiar position of number 6, where he can either accelerate and score quick runs or bat with the tail and take the side to a respectable score.

While there should be designated batting positions, the team management will to have be flexible with their strategies and if the situation demands, then he can always be promoted up the order, with the best example being the 2011 World Cup final.

As Sunil Gavaskar mentioned in his interview to NDTV - "I don't think he will push himself to number 4 if some early wickets fall, then the regular batsmen will go in. This will always be a situation where he will look at the position that the team is in and what the team needs and promote himself to number 4 or number 5."

Dhoni will be aware that at the age of 34 and with the amount of cricket that he has played in the last decade, he will have to adapt to the ever-changing game as team strategies keep evolving. There is no doubt that he can contribute more with the bat by coming in higher up the order, but given the batting talent available in the Indian ODI team, and in addition to the captaincy role that needs to be handled, he also has to keep wickets for the entire batting innings of the opposition.

Therefore, while his fans will want to see him bat higher up the order, it might be in best interests of the Indian team that he is assigned the number six spot – a position where he has played for the maximum part of his career and contributed significantly to the team’s success – and keep the option open of promoting himself up the order as per the demand of the match situation.