'Dhoni should be batting at five': Sachin opines on Dhoni's batting number before WC

New Delhi: India need to space out their experienced batsmen at the World Cup in England and veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni is best suited at number five, according to batting great Sachin Tendulkar.

Skipper Virat Kohli joins openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma to complete India’s stable top three while all-rounder Vijay Shankar is set to bat at number four in the earlier games.

Having Dhoni, whose 341 ODI appearances makes him the most experienced player at this year’s World Cup, at number five would ensure the former India captain could nudge along before exploding in the final overs, believes Tendulkar.

“My personal opinion is Dhoni should be batting (at) five,” Tendulkar, part of the Dhoni-led squad who won the 2011 World Cup on home soil, told ESPNcricinfo.

“I still don’t know what the team combination would be, but if you are going Rohit and Shikhar as openers, to Virat at No. 3 and whoever at No. 4 then Dhoni could be No. 5. Then Hardik Pandya, an explosive player, follows them.