Rohit Sharma and Dhawan look to equal ODI record of Tendulkar and Ganguly as the duo back opening for Team India

India will play against England in the first ODI on Tuesday, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are expected to return to the top of the order because they are two of India's best opening pairs in limited overs cricket. Although Dhawan lost his spot in the T20I team as well as the reduction in the number of ODIs that India plays he will remain as one of the key members in the Indian team for the next year's World Cup in India.

Just behind batting legends Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit and Dhawan are India's second-most prestigious opening pair in ODIs.Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar have scored 6609 in 136 innings for team India whereas Rohit and Dhawan have scored 4994 runs in 111 innings. They need only 6 runs to reach 5000 runs as a partner in ODI cricket. They will be the second Indian pair to do this after Sachin and Ganguly. Many former Cricketers and Indian fans always want Shikhar Dhawan to be a part of all India’s ICC competitions. 

The evolution of KL Rahul has limited the chances of Shikhar Dhawan’s chances in the Indian team. But when it comes to ODI cricket, Shikhar Dhawan should be considered as the first choice opener for team India. When it comes to T20I, KL Rahul will get to play above Shikhar Dhawan as his T20 stats are fabulous. But many fans see Shikhar Dhawan as a team player.

Following a convincing victory in the T20I series, India will play the Three Lions in the opening One Day International of the three-match series on Tuesday at 5:30 IST at The Oval in London. The return of Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, and Ben Stokes would benefit England. They skipped the T20I series and looked impressive in the fifth Test against the Indian squad, which was rescheduled from last year. India are expected to go without Virat Kohli, who had an injury in the team’s training.