Why MS Dhoni is integral to India's success in World Cup 2019

With just six months left for the biggest carnival of cricket, the ICC World Cup 2019 in England and Wales, the selection committee needs to have a blueprint of the Indian squad ready with them, but the number four spot of the Indian squad has become a major headache for Virat Kohli and co.

Despite getting multiple chances, various batsmen have failed to make a solid impact and cement the No.4 spot as their own. In the list of players at the number four spot, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik and Ambati Rayudu are the top names among all others. This is where MS Dhoni can be the answer to the selectors' prayers.

Rahane has been given multiple chances at the number four but the Mumbai batsman has failed at multiple crucial occasions. He has played a total of 27 matches at number four in his career and has delivered a satisfactory performance scoring 843 runs in 25 innings with an average of 36.65 and a strike of 83.71. However, he now seems to be out of the picture and he also hasn’t been able to score a century despite crossing the fifty mark six times with 89 being his highest at the spot, which is quite low for a batsman of his caliber.

Dinesh Karthik has played 16 matches at Number four in his ODI career and had a poor performance scoring just 362 runs with an average of 36.20 and a strike rate of just 67.41. He just has three fifties to his name with his highest score being 64*. He has performed well at other spots in recent times but has failed to seal his chances at number four.

Ambati Rayudu can be the answer to the selector’s headache, as the batsman from Hyderabad has played 16 matches in his career at number four and has scored 430 runs in 13 innings with an average of 47.77. He also has strike rate of 78.03 which doesn't seem great but he has performed consistently and has a century and three fifties to his name at the spot.

MS Dhoni has been one of the best at number four throughout his career. Dhoni has played 29 matches at the spot and has scored 1,271 runs with an outstanding average of 52.95 and has a magnificent strike rate of 94.21 with a century to his name as well as 11 fifties.

Dhoni has always been the game changer for the Indian side and promoting him up the order could prove beneficial for the current Indian side. The 2019 World Cup could probably be the last time we see Dhoni in blue, and giving Captain Cool a proper send off by winning the trophy could be a fantastic farewell to the legacy of MS Dhoni.