5 Days down and we all will witness the battle of the best around the world. All the teams have geared up to make this contest most competitive tournament ever. However, the Indian team works on getting the batting order right for the 2019 World Cup. Keeping in the mind the pace at which batsmen can score in the flat pitches in England and Wales, legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar feels MS Dhoni should be batting at the same position in England, that is the 5th spot.
A week back there were three to four matches that England played against Pakistan, where most of the scores were scored around 350 runs. England conditions are expected to be hot and have dry surfaces, which could be a great advantage for the batsman. It is likely that Indian batsmen will look to take full advantage of these conditions.
Number 4 has become a musical chair affair
Lately, India’s Number 4 spot has been a part of several debates. And, it is still a big puzzle for everyone to decide who would be a better choice. Meanwhile, Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma had suggested that MS Dhoni should be promoted to play at No. 4. Disagreeing with Rohit Sharma, former India opener and 2011 World Cup winning member Sachin Tendulkar said that Dhoni is an ideal choice for No. 5.
“My personal opinion is Dhoni should be batting five. I still don’t know what the team combination would be, but if you are going with Rohit and Shikhar as openers, to Virat [Kohli] at No. 3 and whoever at No. 4 then Dhoni could be No. 5. Then Hardik Pandya, an explosive player, follows them,” Sachin Tendulkar told in an interview.
However, Indian skipper Virat Kohli had been clear in his mission to keep Dhoni as India’s No. 5 to finish the matches for the side.
“Dhoni can stretch the game towards the end where he himself can be explosive along with Hardik,” Tendulkar said. With Ambati Rayudu and Rishabh Pant not finding their place in India’s 15-men squad for the World Cup, Team India; Vijay Shankar, Dinesh Karthik, and KL Rahul are the only options left for the side.
Source: IN
The Spin duo
Indeed the little master also talked about the spin duo in the team. He said, “I personally believe, if you have quality spinners to bowl in the middle overs, they would end up picking wickets. It is all about bowling in partnerships – if quality bowlers could bowl in tandem and create pressure on the batting line-up, that is one way of countering all these factors. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are not only effective at reducing the flow of runs in the middle overs but are also strike bowlers.”
Sachin’s Semi-Finalists
On being asked about the top for teams that he personally feels could make it to the semi-finals, the legend backed hosts England, India and Australia as three of the four semifinalists.
Further, he also backed one of Pakistan or New Zealand to edge past the other oppositions and reach the last four. While Tendulkar remained not fully sure of the fourth semifinalist, there are as many as 5 contenders for the slot; New Zealand, the runners-up in 2015 edition; Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa, and West Indies have enough firepower to take the remaining slot.
