At the post-match press conference Virat Kohli hinted about rotation in India’s middle order in the coming matches which may lead to MS Dhoni batting higher up in the batting order.
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Batting first, India scored a mammoth total of 208 for 5 on the back of a solid 160-run opening stand between Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. As expected, Ireland stumbled during the chase and fell short by 76 runs.
However, the team selection certainly warranted a few questions. Dinesh Karthik and KL Rahul who were both coming off stellar IPL performances were benched and rather Manish Pandey and Suresh Raina found a place in the playing XI.
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At the post-match press conference, when asked about the team’s performance, Kohli said, “Pretty good and can’t complain. We were pretty good with the bat although the last over by Ireland was spot on.
“Look, we’ve already announced we will experiment with the middle order a lot. Even in the next few T20 games, even in England, we will look to throw in guys and surprise the opposition.”
The skipper said that the team would shuffle with the middle order and also make unexpected moves. This effectively means that MS Dhoni may also get a hit higher from his usual batting position. In the IPL as well, Dhoni came out to bat at No.4 and 5 a few times and the experiment proved to be quite successful.
“It presents an opportunity for those lower down the order to go in and bat at the top. In the next games, we will play the guys who din’t play today. We’re going to give everyone a go in this series. The management and me as captain decided it. There’re no mysteries and looking everyone to give game time,” the skipper signed off.
So, don’t be surprised if you see Dhoni coming out to bat at No 4 in the next match or in the series against England. The Captain has already let the cat out of the bag.
