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MS Dhoni should not bat at number six.

cnerd123

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When Dhoni does eventually step down and Kohli is skipper, I'd like to see India play the best gloveman we have and pick all three of Jadeja-Ashwin-Bhuvi and 2 other quicks (Yadav, Ishant, Shami, Aaron, etc).

ATM frontrunners for the keeper spot seem to be Saha, Ojha and Karthik. Not really sure who the best pure glovemen in India is, but out of these three Karthik would be great.
 

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
When Dhoni does eventually step down and Kohli is skipper, I'd like to see India play the best gloveman we have and pick all three of Jadeja-Ashwin-Bhuvi and 2 other quicks (Yadav, Ishant, Shami, Aaron, etc).

ATM frontrunners for the keeper spot seem to be Saha, Ojha and Karthik. Not really sure who the best pure glovemen in India is, but out of these three Karthik would be great.
I guess, right now, it's Ojha. He's done little wrong. Saha may be rusty given how often he's played as an outfielder, while Karthik, once the best, is in poor keeping form right now.
 

Dan

Hall of Fame Member
Saha's next in line IMO. Absolute quality player, and looks like a team man to boot.

He'll be the next BJ Watling -- capable of digging India out of holes, good with the gloves, and a top bloke to have around the dressing room.
 

Singh Is King

School Boy/Girl Cricketer
Really isn't a debate. In the shorter formats of the game he is a no.6 and maybe in test matches at home. But I can't see him ever grinding out a draw and protecting the tail from a collapse if it were to happen. Plays too many shots in swinging conditions.
England series 2007....
Lol :p
 
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Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
Still think he's good enough to be in the side at all? Forget bat at six, he's been shown up as a terrible wicketkeeper, and a captain who seems to throw logic and practicality to the wind to keep his Indian-legend-personality-cult and me-and-my-boys styles going. And still doesn't take much initiative with the bat, until in fits and starts lately.
 

Spikey

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Primarily, even looking at it from an isolated POV, he's just not good enough to bat at No. 6 in a decent test side. He now averages in the 20s outside the SC, he has absolutely nfi what to do when the ball is doing anything off the pitch and he trusts himself too much to leave the ball once in a while and grind it out when he's clearly not up to it.

Additionally, whatever (or not) shortcomings Rohit has against the moving ball, he's about eight times as complete a long form batsman as Dhoni, has a beautiful forward defensive and different gears when the situation requires it. He may well be average in English/Australian conditions but he'd have to under perform pretty ****ing appallingly to be anywhere close to as bad as Dhoni. We'd also be building up somebody who obviously has a very high chance of becoming the long term number six for India over the next ten years or so being decent or good or great as opposed to the opportunity cost of having Dhoni trying to unsuccessfully show off his virility by trying to go forward and drive a terribly bowled full ball on a green top.

Further, our strength right now are our batting stocks. Randomly increasing the spread of the number of overs bowled by bits-and-pieces players who have no chance of being even average at test level is not going to help us at all. We have to have someone who we at least can envisage as averaging 40+ across the world (not pedantically statistically in every country but as a general benchmark) and have the ability to knuckle down and play a rearguard when the situation demands it which is arguably the most important role you find yourself in at number six.

MS, you're a v. cool guy but no test match number six.

These are all good reasons that explain why MSD should not bat at 6 for India

He should bat at 4
 

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