Indian ODI opener Shikhar Dhawan is currently leading the Men in Blue against New Zealand in a three-match ODI series. Dhawan has always proved himself when it comes to the 50-over format. In the first ODI on November 25, Friday, he scored a half-century and also put up a useful 124-run opening stand with Shubman Gill. He scored 72 runs off 77 balls which includes sensational 13 fours.
Veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik reckoned that Dhawan will keep his place in the 50-over World Cup next year. Dhawan has a brilliant record in playing the big and major tournaments.
“I think so. From the kind of vibe I get, he is definitely a starter for the World Cup. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be having him around. He is on the other side of his 30s and they could have easily moved on from him. Just the fact that they have him shows that they are very keen about having him in the ODI team,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
‘He is somebody you can trust as an opener’: Dinesh Karthik
The 37-year-old heaped praise on Dhawan for stepping up in multi-nation tournaments on a consistent basis. The left-hander has an outstanding average of 49.15 in the major world tournament which included eight centuries.
“He has been a gun player in major tournaments, somebody who rises to the occasion and he plays at a fair clip consistently. Even in the 2019 World Cup, he really did well before getting injured. So, he is somebody you can bank on unless something drastically changes in terms of his form completely falling off,” he said.
“He is somebody you can trust as an opener as he knows his game plan. He uses the crease really well, he has got everything to play for, and most importantly, it would be another chance for him to lead a team before the Indian T20 League and that is something he will be looking forward to,” he added.
Dhawan will look to win the last match of the ODI series in which New Zealand are currently leading the series by 1-0. India have already won the T20I series under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy.
