PUNE, India, (Reuters) – India’s Shikhar Dhawan will be Rohit Sharma’s opening partner in the three-match one-day series against England, captain Virat Kohli said on the eve of the opener in Pune.
Having rested Rohit for the first two Twenty20 Internationals, India used four different opening combinations in the five-match series against Eoin Morgan’s men.
Dhawan managed four runs in the first match and did not get another chance in the series, which India won 3-2.
Fellow opener KL Rahul could not grab the opportunity either and managed 15 runs in four matches before bring dropped for Saturday’s decider.
Ishan Kishan, who smashed a fiery fifty on his debut in the second match, is not part of the ODI squad.
“Shikhar and Rohit will definitely start,” Kohli, who opened with deputy Rohit in the final Twenty20, told a video conference yesterday.
“When it comes to one-day cricket, I don’t think there’s any issues or doubts over Rohit and Shikhar opening together.
“They’ve been amazing for us in the past few years, so we’re going to start with that.”
All eyes will be on top order batsman Suryakumar Yadav, who smashed a blistering fifty in his first international knock against England and earned a maiden ODI call-up.
“It will be interesting because there are a few younger players who are getting an opportunity in the one-day set-up for the first time,” Kohli said.
Kohli will open for Royal Challengers Bangalore in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) and wants to continue in that role in the Twenty20 World Cup at home later this year.
“I want to go back into understanding my role as an opener, which I’ve done successfully in the past in T20 cricket, so that I provide an option to open up a slot for someone like Surya who’s playing the way he is at the moment…” he said.
