For many months, there had been a alot of discussions regarding the No. 4 spot on the World Cup squad for India. Many names had emerged for the vacancy, from Ambati Rayudu to Vijay Shankar.
Former Cricketer Krishnamachari Shrikant stated that if Mahendra Singh Dhoni is there then search should end there for the fourth position in the squad. In his column for the Times of India, Shrikant wrote, “For long, the No. 4 position has been much debated and frankly, I think too much has been made about that. In my opinion, India has a readymade No. 4 in MS Dhoni. I don’t think there is anyone better suited for that slot than the former skipper himself and why he has not been allowed to bat there consistently remains a mystery. Given the manner in which Dhoni played in Australia and in the ongoing IPL, there is no doubt that he has some quality left in the tank. Of course, the attacks that Dhoni will come up against in the World Cup will pose sterner tests, but that does not mean he can’t carry the team around.”
Showing full faith in wicketkeeper-batsman, Shrikant stated that Dhoni’s performance in the on-going season of IPL has been fabulous where he has scored 358 runs in 11 matches for his franchise team. Further adding he continued, that Dhoni’s lack of instant firepower was held against him whereas in the case of 50 overs match it is different. 50 overs game gives time to pace up the innings. He is a fantastic wicketkeeper which has been proven in IPL season. With Dhoni around, the teams aura and energy look unbeatable.
Currently the vacancy of No. 4 position has been filled in by Vijay Shankar who had been chosen over Ambati Rayudu as latter had failed to perform well in the tournament against Australia right before IPL 2019 had started.