Oval| As India gears up on a new challenge to face England in the One Day International (ODI), they have recalled one of their oldest veterans Shikhar Dhawan to open the Indian batting alongside skipper Rohit Sharma. Dhawan has been India's batting veteran for many years now and has always risen to the occasion whenever he was handed over a chance.
With senior players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah resting, Dhawan has been named the Indian skipper and will lead them in the ODI matches scheduled to be played in the Caribbean after their English tour. Man of the tournament of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, Shikhar Dhawan has continued to perform exceptionally well in the ICC events and it looks like he is certainly in India's plan for the ODI World Cup, 2023 to be played in India.
The Punjab Kings veteran had begun exceptionally well in the 2019 World Cup, but an injury against Australia in the league matches forced him out of the multi-national event. Since then, Dhawan has not been a mainstay in the Indian team as they have tried different options for the opening slot which includes the likes of Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, and Ishan Kishan.
Shikhar Dhawan's career suffered a major blow when he was left out of India's T20I squad for the UAE World Cup in 2021. Before this World Cup, Dhawan was chosen as the captain of the Indian squad and marshaled the Indian troops in three ODIs and three T20Is against Sri Lanka under the supervision of head coach Rahul Dravid.
As Shikhar Dhawan plays his 150th ODI for team India, Rohit Sharma and company will want him to fire to stabilize the confusion around the Indian top order.
Teams
England (Playing XI): Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w/c), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Craig Overton, David Willey, Brydon Carse, Reece Topley
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna
