Dhoni looking to play two left arm spinners

It seems India are planning to play two similar sort of spin bowlers come the World Cup. MS Dhoni always likes to challenge the conventions of the game. He had done something similar in the last World Cup too when he had gone with two right arm off spinners Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin. This time around, he has two left arm spinners in the squad i.e. Ravindra Jadeja and Akshar Patel and he is looking to use both of them in tandem.

It’s not that Dhoni doesn’t have options. He has an off spinner in the squad too currently, but, because of the fact that Jadeja and Akshar give him more control in those middle overs and they both can bat a bit too, the Indian captain is in favour of having both of them together in the XI.

This move can be costly against those teams that have got a lot of left handers because the deliveries of Jadeja and Akshar would fall right into the hitting arc of the left handers. But, Dhoni is blessed to have a part timer like Suresh Raina whom he can always bring in as a bit of a variety. Raina has, over the years, turned into a very handy One Day off spinner.

With Jadeja and Akshar batting at 7 and 8 respectively, Dhoni feels a little secured and goes for his big hits a little earlier thinking that even if he gets out, there are guys behind him who can take the attack to the opposition. But, when Jadeja doesn’t play and it’s only Akshar to follow after him, he plays circumspect cricket and playing that way, he does not quite bring the best out of himself and that hurts India too. That’s another reason why he wants the combo of Jadeja and Akshar. It makes India’s batting line deeper.