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‘MS Dhoni himself had said in an interview that he wanted to bat at number 4’: Former India pacer RP Singh
For most part of his India career, Dhoni batted deep, either at No. 5 or 6. Former India pacer RP Singh said Dhoni wanted to bat higher up the order but the team management thought there was none better than him in finishing matches.
Former India left-arm fast bowler RP Singh feels MS Dhoni’s finishing skills are next to none, calling the former India captain a ‘beast’ in that regard. Besides Dhoni, the other player that comes to mind who was extremely effective in finishing off matches for his country was Michael Bevan, but Singh suggests Dhoni was in a league of his own.
For most part of his India career, Dhoni batted deep, either at No. 5 or 6, and even though his success as a batsman was even better batting higher, the former wicketkeeper batsman offered to bat lower believing he could sap pressure better than anyone else in the team.
“If I am not wrong, MS himself had said in an interview that he wanted to bat at number 4 but maybe the team thought there was none better than him to absorb the pressure in the late order,” Singh told Cricket.com. “If you talk about the history of the game, you will never get a player like Dhoni who has won so many matches from batting at that position. We have spoken about Bevan and all but MS was a completely different beast.”
Singh weighed in on the off-field persona of Dhoni, revealing how India’s most successful limited-overs captain has remained an extremely grounded person and one who mostly prefers keeping to himself.
“He has always been a down to earth and very composed person. We used to complain that he never takes our calls. Once he told Munaf (Patel) and I, that, when he retires, he would pick up the phone in just half-a-ring. Now we will check if really has retired,” Singh said.
“We always exploited his extra allowance which captains are entitled to! On a serious note, cricketers’ off-field interactions are not very different from ones on the field. We often end up talking about matches and players so it was fun with him.”
