The Indian skipper Virat Kohli has confirmed that Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma will start as openers for the three-match ODI series against England.
Rohit Sharma has been in sublime form as he scored 345 runs in the four-match Test series and then scored a fine knock of 64 runs off just 34 balls in the final T20I.
On the other hand, Shikhar Dhawan had opened the innings in the first T20I with KL Rahul but had failed to deliver the goods. In fact, the Indian captain Virat Kohli had confirmed that KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma will be the first choice openers in the T20I series but the pair opened the innings in the third and the fourth T20I.
Meanwhile, Dhawan had returned with scores of 74, 30, and 16 in the three-match ODI series against Australia. The southpaw then struggled a bit in the domestic circuit in T20s and Vijay Hazare trophy as he registered a string of low scores of 0, 0, 6, and 0 in both formats. However, the veteran left-hander was able to finish the tournament on a high as he scored 153 from 118 balls and then followed it with a 50-ball 44.
“There are a couple of things that internally we have discussed that we’re going to keep an eye on,” Kohli said during a press conference on the eve of the ODI opener. “As far as the opening combination is concerned, yeah, Shikhar and Rohit will definitely start; when it comes to one-day cricket I don’t think there’s any issues or doubts over Rohit or Shikhar opening together. They have been amazing for us for the past few years”.
On the other hand, Kohli has put his weight behind under-fire KL Rahul, who could not get going in the T20I series. Rahul could only muster 15 runs in the four T20Is he played as he returned with scores of 1, 0, 0, and 14. Thus, he was dropped from the final T20I and Virat Kohli decided to open the innings with his deputy Rohit Sharma and played an extra bowler in T Natarajan.
“When an individual is going through a tough phase – it’s not like he forgets how to play, it’s just that mental clarity isn’t as good at the time – at that time if you know what things are being said and you’re being told you’re out of form, then you’re bringing in another external factor into your system,” Kohli said of Rahul’s ongoing lean patch.
The first ODI between India and England will be played today at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune behind closed doors.
