New, mellowed Dhoni is the smart player Team India needed

And much like Dravid at one end caused Yuvraj and Kaif to play their finest one-day innings at the other, so too does Dhoni inspire confidence and I have no doubt that the mature innings the frustratingly brilliant Raina played at the Premadasa had something to do with his partner. Dhoni doesn’t always speak of his methods, his mindset, which is a bit of a pity, because he is now an ideal lesson in how to grow as a cricketer. But worryingly for this side, there isn’t another finisher of the same pedigree and that often means he has to time his charge rather too precisely, sometimes even giving the impression he is holding back too long. So then, what position does he bat at?

For too long, he believed number six was his slot but his current move to number five is just about ideal. In the absence of an in-form Tendulkar or Sehwag, he is currently India’s best limited overs player and quite the best in the middle overs. I thought the manner in which he handled Ajantha Mendis was excellent. He wasn’t always reading him, but by playing late and getting maximum value from the nudges and flicks he was able to generate, he limited the threat of Mendis and set India up for the end overs. Sport always values the smart players, not always the show ponies, not always the bugle blowing marauders, but always the smart players. Dhoni is the smart player India needed.

As a captain, I suspect he has gotten away with playing a bowler short. It was a tactic Sourav Ganguly used with some success during India’s fine run in 2002-03, but it always placed a great burden on the four bowlers picked. If one of them had a bad day, there was no one to turn to. I guess positive captains don’t think like that, but Dhoni would clearly like another bowling option and that is what makes Sehwag so crucial to this line-up. With Sehwag and Tendulkar in the side, strange as it may seem, it actually allows India to play seven batsmen even though six batsmen and Pathan should do.

Irfan, though, remains the enigma, the perfect link player in the Indian team; the one man who can give it the balance that would make it complete. But I suspect even Dhoni is losing a bit of faith with his bowling. From a distance, impressions can be wrong and this one hopefully is, but it does raise the question of what Pathan’s continued role is. If he regards himself as an all-rounder, it allows him to justify a place in the side in spite of a poor bowling performance in case he gets runs. He can believe he is pulling his weight in the side even if it comes at the expense of his primary skill. So the question for Indian cricket is: do we look upon Pathan as a bowler and let him recognise his great skill again, or do we look upon him as a number seven batsman who may or may not bowl ten overs.

It is an important call and it is one that Dhoni must take sooner rather than later.