The preparations of Team India for the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 began with the 50-over series against New Zealand recently. The 2023 World Cup will be hosted by India and there will be many spots to fill in the squad which will eventually look to repeat the 2011 tournament’s success.
One of the most talked about spots is the top-order batters as India decided to rest Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Rohit Sharma for this tour, with Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill opening the innings in the two ODIs thus far.
Senior India cricketer Dinesh Karthik, however, went a step ahead and named the player who is a definite starter among the four. He backed Shikhar Dhawan to be a sure pick in the Indian squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup, as he cited his record in the ICC tournaments for India and his experience.
“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.
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The veteran left-hander loves playing in ICC events, having scored 6 centuries in all in 27 matches, and was the golden bat winner in India’s ICC Champions Trophy 2013 win in England.
“He has been a gun player in ICC 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 added.
“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 IPL and that is something he will be looking forward to,” Karthik added.
Dhawan will next be seen leading the Indian team in the third and final ODI in Christchurch on Wednesday with New Zealand leading the series 1-0.
