Dhoni hints at batting up the order

Sport360 staff 16:21 15/10/2016
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  • MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli - working as a team

    Indian limited-overs captain MS Dhoni has admitted that he has started taking Virat Kohli’s advice while marshalling his troops in the shorter versions of the game. Kohli is the Indian Test captain and currently Dhoni’s deputy in the other two formats.

    There have been some calls for Kohli to be made permanent captain across all formats after the Indian team’s rise to the number one position on the Test rankings.

    Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Dhoni said: “I have already started using him (Kohli) more. If you witness a match you will see I have more interactions with him on the field because two individuals of course will conduct in different ways.”

    Dhoni also hinted at the possibility of him batting up the order in the absence of some regulars in the Indian ODI team. The 35-year-old has usually preferred to bat at the number six position in recent years, but a promotion could be on the cards in the series against New Zealand.

    Going by his comments, Dhoni could be batting at number five in the upcoming series.

    “I may bat slightly up the order now. This team will give me an opportunity to bat at the number that I am looking for. But still it will be quite low, not like a number four position,” he said.

    The World Cup-winning skipper also supported the Indian selectors’ decision to rest a few important players for the ODI series. Key bowlers like Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja have been rested while Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul sit out due to injuries.

    Dhoni mentioned that India will be playing a lot of cricket across formats leading up to the Champions Trophy next year and this is a step that is, therefore, necessary.

    “At times you need to look at future schedules. We are playing 13 Test matches this season, after that IPL followed by Champions Trophy. As such there is no big break in the middle. So I think it’s a good decision. At times you have look at the long-term things,” Dhoni said.

    “We also get an opportunity to test other players and see the bench strength. We are just playing eight ODIs this season. So whatever plans we have we can check them in these matches.”

    India play New Zealand in the first of five ODIs at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Sunday.

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