World Cup 2019: Dean Jones feels MS Dhoni should bat at No 4 for India

India will take on England on Sunday in a high-profile clash of the potential favourites while the former has been on a roll. The hosts have failed to replicate the expectations with their performances. Also, Team India got some cons with their unit, but the team efforts eclipsed and brought out positive results. The only concern for the Men in Blue has been their middle order, which has been exposed in the last two games.

With Shikhar Dhawan ruled out of the tournament and the middle order struggling to perform, the duty of scoring runs has fallen miserably on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. KL Rahul, who was initially given a go, did reasonably well but had to replace Dhawan to form an opening pair with Rohit.

Vijay Shankar, who was roped-in to fill the No 4 slot, has is finding it tough to get the stranglehold. This has once again stemmed the issues with No 4 conundrum and possibly at a crucial juncture this issue has again taken it’s shape. But, the skipper is still upbeat of Vijay and believes that he needs some time to put up good innings.

Former Australia batsman Dean Jones has also chipped in with his opinion. He feels that Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the right man for that slot. “Normally I don’t like touching the team when it’s flying and India is flying at the moment but I have got a concern at the player at number four. I have no problem with MS Dhoni going there and (Ravindra) Jadeja coming in a little later which gives you a spin option,” said Dean Jones to Star Sports.

Jones wants Jadeja to start for India

“I think the pitches are getting a little more tired as the tournament progresses so you need that left-hander down there to help you a little bit. But I’ll have faith and give it one more go,” said Jones. If Jones’ opinion is to be taken into consideration, then India will go with a luxury of three excellent spinners. The pitches have slowed down in the recent matches, and playing three spinners will help the Men in Blue to make most of the conditions. Also, Jadeja is a handy lower order batsman and a gun fielder.

MS Dhoni at No 4 and Jadeja in the playing XI will mean Vijay Shankar will have to face the axe. He has scored 44 runs in first two games, which is far below the expectations of the team. MS Dhoni has been criticized for his slow knocks. Playing him at No 4 will give him some time to settle down before going brisk towards the end.