India should promote MS Dhoni up the batting order in Bangalore T20I, feels Sourav Ganguly

What’s the story?

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has called upon Virat Kohli and the team management to promote MS Dhoni up the batting order for the third T20I against England in Bangalore. The 44-year old pointed to the format’s brevity which does not allow batsmen to settle in and dismissed the need for having a designated finisher in the side.

“I think India needs a change in the batting order to be honest in the final game going into Bangalore. I think Manish Pandey should bat at three and (Suresh) Raina can probably come down at six. Depending on number of overs played, MS Dhoni should go up the order.

“I have been saying this for a long time – maybe 4-5 years now that in T20s Dhoni should be batting much higher and playing more freely. But the team management has got to decide this and take a call,” Ganguly told India Today.

He explained, “I don't believe in this word finisher and we keep hearing about it. You bat 20 overs and you finish. If you are set, then you can be a better finisher than when you come in at the 17th or 18th over without a ball next to your name. So I think the word finisher is just overrated in cricket and I think it is time that hopefully the team management takes this up and gives our best players the maximum number of deliveries (to face).”

In case you didn’t know...

Surprisingly, Dhoni does not have an international T20 fifty to his name. The wicket-keeper batsman has played a whopping 75 T20Is and compiled 1153 runs at an average of 36.03 with a highest score of 48 not out.

The heart of the matter

Dhoni had recently relinquished India's limited-overs captaincy and insisted on expressing himself with the bat in the final phase of his career. When he was skipper, the veteran mostly batted lower down the order in order to end the innings on a high.

Extra Cover: India vs England 2016/17: MS Dhoni keeps the promise he made to Virat Kohli

Upon taking charge, Kohli had indicated his preference to see Dhoni bat up the order and relive his early days as a swashbuckling batsman. During the second T20I in Nagpur, the 35-year old batted at number six. As a result, he was able to face only seven deliveries. On a sluggish pitch which was pretty difficult for new batsmen to attack right away, he scratched around for five runs.

What next?

With the series locked at 1-1, the winner-takes-all clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore assumes extra significance. On a surface expected to facilitate run-scoring, it remains to be seen if Dhoni is promoted up the order should India get off to a strong start.

Sportskeeda’s Take

Though T20s emerged only in the final years of his career, Ganguly has got the hang of how the format works. Notwithstanding his waning reflexes, Dhoni still possesses muscle power and match awareness to make an impact up the batting order. He could bat at number four below Yuvraj and above the likes of Raina and Pandey.