Is MS Dhoni really a burden to the Indian cricket team?

There have been numerous rumors circulating about what happens next with Mahendra Singh Dhoni and what the Indian cricket team's plans for the future are going to be. There have been reports which have suggested that MSK Prasad would talk to Dhoni about his future. The selection board wants to give Rishabh Pant a go in the limited-overs team as the primary wicketkeeper which could mean showing the door to one of the best ODI batsmen to wear the Indian jersey.

The bigger question is why it has reached such a point that the selectors want to look beyond Dhoni and are even willing to drop him from the side. In many ways, India's World Cup campaign and Dhoni's role in the team have contributed to the situation Indian cricket finds itself in.

Dhoni's contribution in the field, his guile, how he manages himself in pressure situations is next to none and he still maintains a very high level of fitness. The problem area pertains to his role in the side as a batsman. Is he a finisher? Is he an anchor? What is his batting position?

Throughout the World Cup, these questions confused anyone who followed the Indian team. The most damning decisions of all, if any, was to not send Dhoni after the fall of the fourth wicket in the semifinals against New Zealand. Even more confusing was promoting Hardik Pandya - a player whose role is to accelerate the flow of runs - ahead of Dhoni in conditions that were conducive to swing bowling.

Hardik Pandya was promoted in the batting order to shield Dhoni in the semifinal

Ravi Shastri, the coach of the Indian cricket team later explained that the team management was trying to shield Dhoni from the swinging ball as they didn't want to lose him in the chase. Somehow it raises an even bigger question that whether the team management preferred Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya's technique over Dhoni's at such a crucial juncture.

In essence, Dhoni at this stage of his career has lost the ability to hit the ball out of the park with regularity. But at the same time his technique, although unorthodox, does help him dig deep and survive for long periods. This was something that was on display early in the year in Australia where Dhoni bagged the Man of the Series award. The conditions needed an anchor and Dhoni played that role to perfection. Dhoni as a resource is not a liability to the team but unfortunately, he has not been used to the best of his ability.

Dhoni played the role of anchor to perfection in the ODI series in Australia

It might be a bit harsh but Dhoni at any number another than No.4 or 5 in the batting order does bring some liability to the team. The team management and Dhoni need to sit down and decide what is going to be the course of action from now because if Dhoni has to continue being part of the team then he has to admit that his floater days are over and he would need to buckle down and bat at 4 or 5. What his recent form has shown is that he still can contribute a lot to Indian cricket but he is hardly getting utilized in the best way possible.

So, to answer the question, No, Dhoni is not a burden to the team, he's just an underutilized player who can still contribute immensely to Indian cricket.