Mahendra Singh Dhoni Wants Virat Kohli at No. 4, How Long Will India Experiment?

As the world debates over Virat Kohli's batting position in One-Day Internationals, Team India captain MS Dhoni has explained his rationale behind his deputy batting at No. 4 in the tri-nation series under way in Australia. India face England in a must-win game in Perth on Friday. Will India continue to experiment in a crunch game? (India, England face-off in knockout tie for final)

Just days before the World Cup, the captain is not amused with India's batting performance. It is hard to expect bowlers winning India the World Cup. It is equally foolhardy to expect Kohli winning the Cup single-handedly with his batting. But in Dhoni's scheme of things, Kohli is just too precious. (Virat Kohli should bat at four if it suits Team India's plans: Viv Richards | Re-instate Virat Kohli at no. 3: Ian Chappell)

With the openers looking inept against the fast moving ball, is it wise to expose Kohli at No. 3? There have been two schools of thought. A man in form - at least Kohli was superb during the Test series - should logically be able to harness the new ball from two ends better. But a couple of legends believe Kohli at No. 4 is a better option. Dhoni believes so too. (Shikhar Dhawan, a flat-track bully exposed Down Under?)

"If I am batting at 6 and I am worried before going for a big shot whether the following batsman will be able to capitlise in the last eight overs, it is not a good place to be in," Dhoni explained. "If Virat gets a partnership going, I am there, Raina is there and we can maneuver the strike and capitalize.

"It is also important to look at the XI you're playing and decide which batsman batting where will benefit the team most. So a batsman who loves to bat at a certain position will have to sacrifice," the captain said. "By the start of World Cup we'll have a better picture of who bats where."

While flexibility in batting order should be an option, it is surprising to hear Dhoni who is still not sure of the batting order. This primarily surfaces from the fact that India have hardly looked a champion ODI side in the tri-series.

"More than the batting number, the number of overs is important. If the openers play till the 38th over, you'd like your No. 7 batsman to walk in rather than the No. 3," Dhoni explained.

For Indian cricket, on and off-the-field, it's surely confusing times. At least the Supreme Court will adjudicate the off-pitch events. When will India have a definite gameplan in the middle?