Dhoni’s Batting Order Conundrum

The poor greatest Indian cricketer of all time has tied himself in knots. A man with immense cricketing knowledge and a sixth sense that often defies logic has to now hide himself in the batting order. Since the recent World Cup and some years prior, Dhoni has shown that he isn’t much of a batsman anymore.

Everything is ephemeral. Anything can be considered true only as long as it does not begin to contradict empirical evidence. However, contradictions happen as events unfold. Call it pragmatists' truth if you want, it does really evolve and change with time and understanding of the matter on hand. On evidence, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s batting skills have waned in a precipitous manner. That’s the new truth.

But all through the years in situations when Team India was staring at the gun barrel, was Dhoni’s batting any better? For a cricketer who is considered the best finisher ever, Dhoni’s record in ICC events must-win games is not much to write home about. Those were games where India’s journey in the tournament depended on that single game. India won two or three of those and lost four times as many of those. Dhoni averages 28 at a strike rate of 90 in those games.

India’s wins in two World Cup events captained by Dhoni has catapulted us into such euphoria that we cannot see the forest for the trees. In the deluge of adulation, it is only human to think of oneself as god-like can be understood if Dhoni himself has come to believe in his own myth. That precisely has been the reason that he retired from test matches at least a year too late, and from short games at least two years too late.

Over years ODIs and T20s have seen dramatic changes. Scores of over 400 in ODIs and over 200 in T20s are the norm. Batsmen at 5, 6, and 7 are expected to deliver sustained ferocious hitting. Dhoni has never been in such situations in all of his cricketing career.

The employers who still choose to place their faith in him are either into maudlin sentimentality, or just about blind. That may sound crass to Dhoni’s legions of admirers, I ask them to take a dispassionate look at records.

Should Dhoni of today be an automatic choice in any playing eleven? Yes, if the employers are looking at his wicket-keeping and captaining skills with full understanding that he can bat only at 8, 9 or 10.

And like all pragmatist’s truths this truth shall also change in future.

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