Dhoni has no place up in top-order: Gavaskar

Former captain Sunil Gavaskar on Friday joined the debate on Mahendra Singh Dhoni's batting position, saying that current skipper has no place in the top order of the star-studded Indian line-up.

With the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh in the Indian ranks, Gavaskar agreed with Dhoni saying that Indian skipper should bat at No. 5.

"I think he (Dhoni) has no place in the top order. You have Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar at the top and Gautam Gambhir comes next. Yuvraj Singh is at his best at number four and so Dhoni comes after him," Gavaskar said,

"The important thing about the debate was good players should face more overs and he (Dhoni) was batting as a floater for some time. And I think he will bat according to the situation," he said on the sidelines of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.

Gavaskar also lauded Sachin Tendulkar, who would complete 20 years of international cricket next month, for his commitment to the game.

"It is a tremendous achievement to be able to play for 20 years consistently. Even after 20 years he is still child at heart. He has still got the enthusiasm of a child and is still hungry to perform after playing for so many years," he said.

New Zealand fast bowling great Sir Richard Hadlee felt the hallmark of a great player was how he performed abroad and how fast he comes out of a lean patch, and Tendulkar was excellent on both counts.

"Tendulkar has performed in every conditions. He has been done well abroad and scored runs against all countries. Moreover, he has come out of lean patches faster than any average player. That is the hallmark of a player's greatness," he said.

Former captain Ravi Shastri said it was a tribute to Tendulkar's greatness that he would last 20 years and would maintain top form in all these years.

"It is a tribute to his greatness, to his fitness and skills that he would last 20 long years and still maintains top form. He will go down in history as one of the greatest players," said Shastri.

All the three former players also stressed uppon the fact that there is a need to balance all the three formats of the game so that Test cricket is preserved as the pinnacle of the game.

All of them pinned hopes on the Future Tours Programme after 2012 that the number of Tests will be increased while the ODIs will be reduced.

They also felt Indian Premier League of Champions League Twenty20 would only energise cricket.

"When one-day cricket came into being people felt Test cricket will be overshadowed but it never happened. Test cricket remained the pinnacle and it will remain so. There is space for all the formats. The only thing for administrators is how to balance them and not to make overkill of one over the other," Shastri said.

"Of course, the lure of money may alter the priority of young players but a youngster should first think of playing for the country first before being lured by the big money," he added.