India's veteran batter Shikhar Dhawan has been given an onus to spearhead India in the ongoing three-match ODI series against West Indies. He got off to a great start after edging the Men in Maroon in the series opener riding on a robust 97-run knock which earned India a 3-run victory. On Sunday (July 24), Dhawan will look to seal the series by winning the second ODI as well.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma feels Dhawan will be in the selectors’ ODI scheme of things until next year’s World Cup at least.
On being asked whether about whether he sees Dhawan fitting into Rohit Sharma‘s attacking policy in white-ball cricket. He responded, “Absolutely, he has exceptional stats in white-ball cricket, especially if you see his record in ODI cricket, it is extremely fantastic. I believe the selectors will be 100% tempted to have him in the Indian team till the next World Cup at least because the Indian team needs him a lot.”
The veteran batter Dhawan's record in ODIs speaks volume as he has amassed 6422 runs in a total of 153 One Day Internationals at an impressive average of 45.54. Also Dhawan is known for making it big on bigger stage.
Dhawan has as many 50+ scores as Sachin in the first 150 innings as ODI opener
60: Rohit Sharma
58: Hashim Amla
53: Sachin Tendulkar
53: Shikhar Dhawan*
Rajkumar Sharma also emphasised the effective partnership Dhawan and Rohit had created at the top of the order, saying: “He (Dhawan) gives the stability when he opens alongside Rohit Sharma, there is a right and left-handed combination and both of them complement each other extremely well.”
The former first-class cricketer added: “It is a very good thing that it is a fantastic pair, India has an experienced pair in the form of Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, and it is also necessary to say that they are an extremely successful pair.”
Sharma continued by highlighting the excellent chemistry between Dhawan and Rohit, explaining: “We have often seen, when you talk about attacking cricket, that when Rohit Sharma is playing attacking cricket then Dhawan plays second fiddle and vice versa when Shikhar’s shots are coming good, then Rohit allows him to play his strokes and he himself plays the waiting game.”
Dhawan and Rohit have aggregated 5125 runs at an impressive average of 45.75 in the 114 ODIs they have opened for Team India. The pair have 18 century and 15 half-century partnerships to their name.
