The former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan said that Virat Kohli has a better batting technique than MS Dhoni to bat number 3. Earlier, Gautam Gambhir said that MS Dhoni could have been a completely different player and broken a lot of records if he continued batting at number three. However, Irfan Pathan did not agree with his comments.
MS Dhoni boasts of incredible numbers batting at number three. He has scored 993 runs at an average of 82.75 in the 17 matches he has played at number three. He registered his top score of 183 against Sri Lanka in Jaipur, playing at number three. He also scored his maiden ODI century and that was against Pakistan in Vishakapatnam, batting at number three.
“Virat Kohli has a better technique than MS Dhoni to bat at number 3,”– Irfan Pathan
“But MS had all the chance to bat at No. 3, he did not. Look, I really believe that if you compare Virat and Mahendra Singh Dhoni batting at No. 3, I still feel Virat has a better technique,” Pathan was quoted as saying on Star Sports’ Show Cricket Connected.
“There is nothing that I am taking away from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, obviously he has been an absolute legend of the game. Everyone has their own opinion. I will still take Virat any day,” Pathan added.
Dhoni batted for the last time at number three in 2009 against Sri Lanka in Rajkot. He also scored a few 80s and 90s, playing at that position. Then he started to bat in the middle order and took up the new role of a finisher. From there onwards, he became one of the greatest finishers the game has ever seen.
Why The Comparisons Are Now Coming In?
The former Indian captain scored 10,773 runs at an impeccable batting average of 50.57 in the 350 matches he has played. He also has 10 centuries under his belt. Dhoni’s style of batting gradually changed as well. He shifted himself to a more responsible batsman from the carefree batsman. He became more matured when he became the captain of the team.
On the other hand, Virat Kohli is currently the main batsman of the Indian Team. He is currently India’s most dependable batsman. He has been scoring runs consistently batting at the number three position. He started his career as a middle-order batsman. Once he scored that 91 against Bangladesh in Dhaka in 2010, from then onwards he has grown from strength to strength. Kohli has scored 9,751 runs in 187 matches at an average of 62.90 at number three position. He also has smashed 36 centuries playing at that spot.
Well, this is kind of an odd comparison. Dhoni was never really a number-three batsman. He was more of a lower-down-the-order kind of player, who came into to finish games. He enjoyed his role there and though Gambhir wanted him up the order, things are just fine as they are.
Dhoni was mainly a hitter and he was happy finishing games. Why would he want to change that and become something he was not. No one knows.
