Five challenges that await Ravi Shastri as India's new head coach

#3 Sketching the road map for Dhoni’s future

Shastri must focus on extracting the best from Dhoni’s waning cricketing career

An extension of this middle order debate is to make a plan for Dhoni’s future with the Indian team.

The former Indian captain is clearly on the last lap of his international career. However, his extensive experience, tactical genius, and cricketing knowledge still bring a lot to the Indian cricket team’s table. His wicketkeeping skills are still beyond question, and no one else comes close to him with the gloves even today.

Propelling the hard-hitting batsman to No. 4 might just be what India need. It will help him free his arms (literally) and partially release him of the burden of trying to finish off the innings.

Shastri needs to sit down with the 37-year-old and have a long, hard talk about his future.

India need Dhoni even today. However, he’s not going to be around forever. As a coach, the challenge before Shastri is to figure out a way of extracting the most from Dhoni and helping him sustain this level for as long as possible.

Dhoni’s judgment and experience might prove to be invaluable for the Indian team in the World Cup. However, there's just that one pressing question: Will the World Cup-winning former skipper be able to survive and thrive at the highest level for another year and a half?