Veteran India opener Shikhar Dhawan, who plays for India only in ODIs, has been an ‘invaluable’ asset to the national squad, according to former India fielding coach R Sridhar.

Dhawan recently made history by becoming the first Indian captain to whitewash West Indies in their own backyard in the 50-over format.

Later this month, when a backup Indian squad heads to Zimbabwe for a three-match ODI series, he will once again take on the leadership duty. He finished the ODI series as the second-highest run-scorer for his team with two half-centuries to his name.

According to Sridhar, the 36-year-old has carved out a reputation for himself as a dependable opener and has significantly improved his fitness over the last few years.

"About Dhawan, he has been invaluable to Indian cricket for the last eight or nine years, especially in the white-ball format. He has been a great foil to both Rohit and Virat. These two guys have been exceptional at the top, and Dhawan has got a huge role to play as a left-hander. He has carved a niche for himself as a reliable opening batter. His fitness is probably better than it was a few years ago. He also understands the game better," Sridhar told cricket.com.

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He believes that the southpaw would undoubtedly play for India in the ICC Men's ODI World Cup next year.

"When it comes to ODI cricket, we don’t want to look beyond him too much, or at least till the 2023 World Cup, and in the shorter format, he is a back-up batter. He gives his IPL teams 400-plus runs every season, but whereas the Indian team is concerned, he is going nowhere till the 2023 World Cup," he added.

The three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe will be played on August 18, 20, and 22.

(cricket.com Inputs)