5 opening partners for Rohit Sharma in the Champions Trophy
India might have won the three-match ODI series against England, but Virat Kohli and co. will be worried about the opening combination. All three openers managed to score a combined total of 37 runs in the three matches with KL Rahul leading the chart with 24 runs (3 matches) while Shikhar Dhawan (2 matches) and Ajinkya Rahane (1 match) scored 12 and 1 respectively.
This is a concern for the Men in Blue ahead of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy as India don’t have any more ODI matches before the tournament and go into the tournament without a settled opening combination. India’s best opener in ODIs, Rohit Sharma – who didn’t take part in the series due to a thigh injury which he sustained during the fifth ODI against New Zealand – is certain to walk into the side and open the batting in the Champions Trophy.
The selectors have a huge headache in picking the right man to open the innings with Rohit Sharma and also the third opener in case either of the first choice openers are injured. Let us take a look at the five batsmen who could open with Rohit Sharma in the Champions trophy.
#1 Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan has been roundly criticised for his performances and trends on social media for all the wrong reasons whenever he comes out to bat. Does he deserve all the criticism he is getting for his failure? The answer is be a big no.
Ever since returning from the finger injury he sustained during the Test series against New Zealand in October last year, Dhawan played just two ODIs and failed on both occasions. He might be vulnerable against the red ball in Tests, but when it comes to the ODI format, Dhawan is one of India’s best batsmen. In spite of all these failures, the Delhi batsman averages 43 in this format, which is more than that of Rohit Sharma.
In the last bilateral series that he played, Dhawan scored a huge century and followed it up with a couple of fifties in India’s tour Australia in 2016. He is mentally strong and is a completely different player when it comes to ICC tournaments. He was the leading run-scorer in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy and is one of the reasons why India won the tournament.
Even in the 2015 World Cup, Dhawan was India’s best batsman as he scored two centuries along with few crucial knocks in the tournament. In spite of his poor run, I will back Dhawan to open the innings with Rohit when India go to England to defend their Champions Trophy crown.