If Dhoni Is Batting Higher Up, What Are The Other Batsmen Doing?

All the cricket pundits are going gung ho about Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s century in the second ODI in Nagpur of the seven India Australia ODI series. But again, if the Indian captain bats high up, what will the other specialist batsmen do?
While it is great to have another whirlwind knock by the Indian captain, and indeed his batting prowess at any batting slot cannot be undermined, one must consider the aspect of promoting Dhoni higher up the order from two angles.
Firstly, Dhoni is not only the captain of the team but also, the wicket keeper. And a long innings like the one he played in Nagpur would require him to keep for fifty overs which is not as easy task. Given that he has to be alert not just as a wicket keeper but also, as a captain who has to constantly think of a multitude of factors, the questions that goes a begging is: is India asking too much of Dhoni?
Secondly, if Dhoni is pressed to occupy one of the top four spots in the Indian batting order, what is the relevance of having specialist batsmen who should ideally take on the onus of the job to ensure that India gets off to a good start.
Traditionally the Indian wicket keeper has been someone who comes very late into the innings, chips in a few relevant runs, makes a lot of noise behind the stumps to motivate the boys. The role may have altered significantly, thanks to the likes of Adam Gilchrist and Mark Boucher of South Africa, but Dhoni is still a key member as captain-wicketkeeper-batsman, and perhaps it makes sense then the top four/five batsmen make themselves useful on a more consistent basis so that the captain does not have to do it all all the time himself.

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