Mahendra Singh Dhoni: Why 'Captain Cool' should continue to bat at No. 4 for the rest of his career

With Mahendra Singh Dhoni looking to express himself at the crease, it's time for the likes of Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav to develop their skills to fit in that finisher role for Team India.

New Delhi: While Virat Kohli was the hero of India's seven-wicket win against New Zealand in the third ODI played at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Chandigarh, much to the delight of the Indian cricket fans, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni regained his form in limited-overs cricket with a brilliant knock.

Not in the best of form, there was tremendous pressure on India's captain cool to find rhythm, with Kohli shattering all records with each passing match. While many said the Ranchi-born cricketer was no more India's 'best finisher', considering his poor form, many also wanted him to pass on the baton to Kohli, who has been unstoppable across formats this year.

With his back against the wall, Dhoni took the risk once again by promoting him to bat at number four at Mohali. And the move paid off, as the skipper rolled back the years for his fans by expressing himself at the crease. The crowd at Mohali got entertainment worth their money as Dhoni and Kohli were involved in a magnificent 151-run partnership for the third wicket.

Despite missing out on a century by 20 runs, Dhoni had proved a point that his career was nowhere close to being over. It was a pleasing sight for the fans to watch Dhoni hammer bowlers to all parts of the ground.

After the match, in a very interesting statement, Dhoni said he had decided to bat at No. 4 as he was finding it difficult to freely rotate the strike in the middle.

“I have batted lower down for a long time, I think 200 innings down the order. To some extent, I am losing my ability to freely rotate in the middle, so I have decided to bat up and let the others finish,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

There is no denying the fact that the skipper has done a fabulous job at No. 6, from where he has single-handedly pulled off matches for the Men in Blue. It's time for the likes of Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav to develop their skills to fit in that finisher role for Team India.

With his massive experience and for the sake of cricket fans, Dhoni should bat at No. 4, something which all of us have wanted him to do since long.