"Jo hai tera, tujhe mil jaayega kisi bahaane se" - Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan begins preparation for SA ODIs
Shikhar Dhawan has begun his preparations as India gear up for the three-match ODI series against South Africa, which starts on January 19 (Wednesday) in Paarl.
Dhawan, who led India against Sri Lanka, will have to fight it out with Ruturaj Gaikwad for the opener's slot alongside skipper KL Rahul. The 36-year-old, whose stock has gone down recently, will look to revive his career with the ODI World Cup approaching.
Ahead of the one-dayers, Shikhar Dhawan posted a photo from the first training session on his official Instagram handle. Along with the picture, he wrote:
"Jo hai tera, tujhe mil jaayega kisi bahaane see (what's yours, you will get in anyhow). Keep working hard."
Shikhar Dhawan was last seen in action in the Vijay Hazare Trophy last year. He looked completely out of form, managing only 56 runs from five outings, with the highest score of 18.
The cricketer from Delhi, who is known to shine through at ICC events, has represented India in 145 ODIs, scoring 6105 runs at 45.55, including 17 centuries and 33 fifties.
KL Rahul takes charge as India look to shrug off Test humiliation in ODIs
🏻
ODI MODE 🔛
We are here at Boland Park to begin prep for the ODIs 👍🏻
#TeamIndia | #SAvIND https://t.co/psMVDaNwbc
With Rohit Sharma missing out due to an injury, KL Rahul will lead the side in the upcoming three-match series against South Africa. This will be India's first ODI assignment since Virat Kohli was sacked as captain in the 50-overs format.
The Men in Blues will look to make a good start as head coach Rahul Dravid looks to build a template for next year's World Cup.
Paarl will host the first two ODIs on January 19 and 21 before the caravan shifts to Cape Town for the final game of the series.
ODI squad: KL Rahul (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Jayant Yadav, Navdeep Saini.