5 reasons why Dhoni is still important to India's world cup campaign

#4 India's Middle order is fragile

India's top three batsmen are among the world's best. There is no denial. But what if one day India is at 4/3?

We cannot rue the situation of that happening after the first ODI against Australia in Sydney. India has to be prepared for all likely scenarios in order to lift the World Cup.

Yes. Dhoni did consume a lot of balls in his painfully slow knock of 51 from 96 balls. But how much confidence the team has in the players that were to come after him?

Dinesh Karthik is finding his feet in the team while Jadeja is seen only as a stop-gap replacement for the unavailability of Hardik Pandya. And the no.4 debate has still not ended thanks to the scratchiness of Ambati Rayudu.

Even with the likes of Kedar Jadhav and Rishab Pant going around, there is still no dependable batsman who can carry the innings 9 out of 10 times.

He may not finish the innings spectacularly like he once did. But he can act as an anchor.

Dhoni the anchor is currently more important to India's cause than Dhoni the finisher. MSD is no Che Pujara. Still, he is dependable enough to act as the team's circuit breaker.

MSD can prevent India from imploding, given the fragility of India's middle order.