6 things MS Dhoni should try out against Ireland

India have already secured a spot in the quarter-finals with four straight wins in the World Cup. Their two remaining games are nothing more than a formality.

While most of MS Dhoni’s decisions have been spot on in this campaign so far, there are still a few areas the team can improve on.

And the presumably easy game against Ireland offers an opportunity to experiment and apply a few new strategies.

Here are a few variations Captain Cool should try out during this game.

1. Give Bhuvi a game

Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav have more than paid off the faith MSD has shown in them. Mohit has also done well as the third fast bowler. But in the event of an injury to one of them, Bhuvneshwar is the only replacement India have on the bench in the pace department. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to go in with four pacers and give Bhuvi some much needed match practice against the minnows.

2. Promote himself up the order

MS Dhoni’s finishing skills were tested to a certain extent against West Indies. But it wasn’t a high run chase, and with three wins under the belt, it wasn’t exactly a do-or-die situation for Team India. The skipper should try to get a few runs under his belt to get his confidence level up. You can never rule out the possibility of a top-order collapse when India line up against quality bowling attacks of Australia and New Zealand.

3. Jadeja as the night-watchman

MSD doesn’t like to shuffle his batting order too often, but it would be nice to test Jadeja’s slog-hitting skills once in a while. The all-rounder has rarely been called into action with the bat so far in the tournament and you can’t expect him to start firing out of the blue.

4. Rahane as the opener

Rohit Sharma’s struggle and inconsistency at the top of the order have been overshadowed by Dhawan’s brilliance and the reassuring presence of Kohli at one down. Demoting him, and even dropping him for a game for that matter, would serve as a reality check for the right-hander. More importantly, it would give Ajinkya Rahane a much-deserved chance to show what real talent means.

5. A full spell for Raina

With his frontline bowlers doing ever so well, MSD has hardly had to turn to a part-time bowler in this tournament. In fact, Raina is the only ‘recognised’ part-timer in the squad and he has bowled only two overs in the four games so far. Future games hold some big riddles like Maxwell and McCullum, which may require some unconventional solutions.

6. Get Rayudu into the action

Quite predictably, India’s second-choice keeper hasn’t had a game so far in the tournament. But it wouldn’t hurt MSD to take the gloves off for a game in order to keep Rayudu match-fit, in the unfortunate event of an injury that we hope never happens.