Should Dhoni be opening or at least batting #3 or #4?
549686
I think dhoni must open the innings with his swash buckling shots.As at present in our team we dont have a good opening start and thatz the reason y we had failed in the recent odi series with west indies.If sent opens the innings along with Sehwag then noone can stop India from making huge scores.I think the Indian team is not utilizing his talent properly.
537700
Wouldn't be surprised if Mahendra Singh Dhoni breaks the record in the forthcoming West Indies tour.\n\nHe almost did it against Sri Lanka ( http://usa.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005-06/SL_IN_IND/SCORECARDS/SL_IND_ODI3_31OCT2005.html ) but sadly, there weren't enough runs on the board.
900525
I agree with you. If at all he is worlds best batsman, he need to adapt to team's requirement. If he comes two down , ideally after 20 th over and can stay till end to stabilise the innings.
238408
Yes definetely he can do it not only against the English Bowlers but against any bowlers in the world.\n\nThe Key to Dhoni's Success are :\n\n1  He bats so straight and hits straight.\n2  He is not a slogger, he hits it with Great timing and Great Power.\n3  When he hits it stays. He is very sharp and don't bother about the situation, when he sees a opportunity to hit, he will go for it.\n4  He releases the pressure of the batsman who is batting in the other end.\n5  The best possible combination (Dhoni and Yuvraj) are the two to take a game away from the opponents, and to take the game to victory.\n6  He can win us matches, as we have seen in the past, even when the run rate is above (8 runs per over).\n7  He is consistent and won us matches against Pakis consistently.\n8  Added to his advantage is his attitude, and he is also a very good wicketkeeper that India has ever produced after the great Syed Kirmani in the past.\n9  He is unorthodox at times, simple he plays the Cricket like the Baseball and hits the ball all round the park and out the park so frequently.\n10  He is a quick learner and he is a very great runner between the wickets.\n11  If he is served with a glass of water with a pinch of salt and sugar added then and there, it would help him in hitting the ball hard and straight and out of the park more frequently.
1042281
no, Dravid has proved numerous times in the past his capability as middle order batsmen , he needs to be there in the middle order to provide the team the much needed dependability
45222
From my point of view, Rahul Dravid's wicket will be most important for India. He is THE WALL OF INDIAN DEFENCE.\nYuvraj Singh would also be a key player down in the middle order. It will be too much to expect some fast centuries from Dhoni.\n\nFrom Pak side, Inzamam & Mohd. Yusuf (Yusuf Yohana) will hold the key.\nShoaib Akhtar & Shahid Afridi are also in form.
837849
Although Tendulkar is far from his best he is definitely not over. Shewag is still dangerous, but he needs to be dropped once to get him some sense! Dravid is still the best Indian batsman. Yuvraj is too good not to have in the team. Kaif is a solid player, he will be the future Dravid, If only they let him play enough! Raina has not impressed me enough. Irfan should be kept as a bowler only. Please stop sending him 1 down!
975136
also thats why giles is so effective, as he's not bad with bat and ball. Personally i'd keep the same line up from 1st test but just swapping panesar with anderson, going with two spinners and just hoping we win the toss and bat first, only hope we've got i think.
1074518
Baseball and Cricket are not exactly the same type of bat and ball games. Cricket is more about the technique of placing the ball while the ball is coming from a variety of bowling actions from spin to fast. It would not do any good if Mr. Dhoni who has the natural talent to hit the ball starts playing base ball to improve his cricket shots because for one thing he will always get double minded when playing a stroke whether to play it as base ball or conventional cricket. Spinners like Murlitharan or Abdul Qadir or Kumbley can produce a versatile array of balls in spin and playing baseball won't help Dhoni in dealing with those balls. As for playing shots is concerned I feel he is already doing that and the recent West Indian tour of Indian team and the last year's tour of Pakistan has proved that. Won't it be like asking a dolphin to try swimming in our pool to improve her skills in ocean? Or ask a golfer to play hockey? No, I think these are two different kinds of sports and a playing cricketer can improve his skills by pratising more.
655446
IF HE CONNECTS WELL, AFRIDI IS THE BEST.\nINZY LAZY.\nRAZZAQ NOT SO FAMILIAR AS AFRIDI IN HITTING 6.
426090
For Test match-Ricky Ponting is no.1\nFor ODI ranking- M.S. Dhoni is no.1
865960
I think that they may play both Monty and Gilo at Brisbane. Monty is very tight and doesn't give much away. Gilo has a bit of a hex on one or two of the Aussies and never lets us down in the field or with the bat. Together they could be very effective. So my team would be (in batting order) : Bell, Strauss, Cook, Pietersen, Trescothick, Flintoff, Jones (wk), Giles, Hoggard, Harmison, Panesar. Obviously Freddie has to be 100% fit as he would carry a big bowling load. It's a cautious side - but I'll sett;e for a draw at the Gabba.
777050
Shastri and Chappel always have been suspect creatures. But I don't think there is nexus between the three here. There was a nexus between Wright and Dravid - thanks to the Kent connection. Wright even got Dravid to play for Scotland. But there was nothing wrong with that.\n\nThe wrong connections were between Chappel and Kiran More - due to business interests. And of course there have been kickbacks to Shastri to get Chappel in as the coach. Tom Moody would have been a lot better choice.\n\nBut if you are disappointed with India's performance today, blame it on the selection panel. Jaffer, Raina and Kaif simply cannot bat on bouncy wickets. They ought to be back on the first flight to Mumbai.\n\nYou'll see that in the next few matches, Dravid, tendulkar, Dhoni Swhwag and Mongia being able to bat a lot more comfortably - but the rest would continue to falter. Yuvraj could have made a difference here.\n\nBut the key point is, who else should be in the playing XI? Gautam Gambhir? Ganguly? I would even recommend someone like Akash Chopra to be brought back for the test series.
115169
They probably cause him more difficulties than the other members of the attack especially with Aktar's pace. The other thing is that it is more likely than an opening bowler will claim an opening batsman especially if he only gets 10 overs.
1174659
There goes another Ganguly Question.. lol --- Dont worry Nothing will happen, he is the PAST of Indian Cricket now..He will play more counties. He may get a chance as an "Experience Advisor" to the Indian Team selected for the World Cup
381681
London: Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Thursday became the world’s top batsman in the ICC one-day rankings with a phenomenal average of 52.76 and an awesome strike-rate of 103.\n\nDhoni, who was placed second behind Ricky Ponting before the two-match one-day series against Pakistan, displaced the Australian captain from the top spot after his fine knock of 59 in the second match in Abu Dhabi.\n\nHowever, the 1-1 honours in the series meant that India and Pakistan remain unchanged in the team championship table, on third and fourth places, respectively.\n\nThe 24-year-old Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batsman, who made his ODI debut in December 2004, has made a remarkably rapid rise with his statistics providing compelling support for his position on top of the ODI charts released by the ICC Thursday.
830303
G'day Robin M,\n\nThank you for your question.\n\nThey are in a position to put a big score on the board at 3-256 as I type. Pieterson and Collingwood are looking good. \n\nThe problem they might have is taking 20 wickets. They may regret leaving Panesar out given that the pitch is offering more to the spinners than the pacemen.\n\nRegards