With the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is around the corner, former India captain Sourav Ganguly has backed MS Dhoni to bat at the crucial No.4 position in the remaining ODIs. Team India are slated to play 10 ODIs before the showpiece event begins in England from May 30. While the Men in Blue will travel to New Zealand for five ODIs, they will subsequently host Australia in as many one-dayers.  

During the third and final ODI against Australia in Melbourne on Friday (January 18), Dhoni was sent to bat at 4 and the veteran wicketkeeper responded with a well-composed knock of 87 not out to ensure India’s series-clinching seven-wicket victory.

"The way Dhoni has batted in the series...we have seen him play like this after a long time. India have played well and again won a series 2-1 after being 1-0 down. A lot was said about Dhoni after the Adelaide ODI, where he batted slow but we spoke about how the innings will give him confidence and that is exactly what happened,” Ganguly told IndiaTV.

"I think Kedar will play No.5 and Dhoni will play at No.4. So I think India will go with this combination only because you gave someone an opportunity and they grabbed it. So Kohli at 3, Dhoni 4 and Jadhav at 5 followed by Karthik. No.4 is right for Dhoni because it gives him time to settle in and score runs and build an innings. So this combination is fine.

"A good thing that India got from this match was Kedar Jadhav. When India was in a fix, he took the game out along with Dhoni. He had not batted in the series.. He had not played a practice match and was just batting in the nets. So scoring runs in the middle makes a difference and he will take confidence from this," he added.

Ganguly feels team balance is the key to success and thus it is important for the middle order to play its part. No wonder, he was pleased with India’s victory at MCG since it was scripted by the pair of Dhoni and Jadhav after the dismissal of fearsome top 3.

"The balance will only look better when everyone scores. Dhoni scored today and Jadhav chipped in as well. So the balance looked good today. Dhoni scored runs, Jadhav also looked in good touch and Dinesh Karthik also chipped in with runs. So, form is important. Performance solves everything and MS Dhoni will get a lot of confidence from his," Ganguly opined.

He also rubbished the theory that Kohli has not contributed enough in the series. According to Ganguly, Virat’s contribution was not up to his colossal standards but he did his job to perfection.

"Virat's contribution might not be like Virat's standards but in the second match, if he had not scored a century, India wouldn't have won. So I understand his contribution has been immense and people say he hasn't been great when he scored 40s and 50s but his contribution has been equally important," Ganguly said.

The former skipper said that it was difficult for the hosts to comeback after getting bundled out for 230 at the MCG.

"I'm not surprised that Chahal has troubled them because wrist-spinners trouble the Aussie batsman always. We spoke about spinners taking wickets ahead of the series and his spell proved that again. Once Australia were out for 230, it was always going to be India's game," he said.

Ganguly concluded by saying that the upcoming tour of New Zealand will be difficult for Kohli and company.

"I hope India will play a lot better cricket against New Zealand, which is going to be a lot difficult," he signed-off.