Veteran India cricketer Shikhar Dhawan is not going to play in the upcoming World Cup 2023 at home as he’s been dropped from Team India’s plans after December last year with Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan getting into the squad as the first-choice opener and the opening backup respectively.
Nonetheless, Shikhar Dhawan could still be part of the World Cup 2023 tournament reportedly as a commentator. He could be asked to make opinions on his experience as a successful cricketer, especially in ICC tournaments.
Speaking on the ICC Review show, Shikhar Dhawan was asked to pick his top 5 players he’d select in his Dream Team for the upcoming World Cup 2023 in India.
Shikhar Dhawan hailed Virat Kohli as the best batsman in the world
Out of the 5 cricketers to watch out for in the tournament, Shikhar Dhawan named two of his teammates and good friends – and it is no surprise that they are Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Virat Kohli will be playing his fourth ODI World Cup and Rohit Sharma, the India captain, his third.
“The first (picked) is Virat of course. He is the best batter in the world and has been scoring runs like crazy,” the left-hander said.
Dhawan, who has had some great opening stands with Rohit, said of his former opening partner: “Rohit is a very experienced customer. He has scored lots of runs in ICC tournaments and bilateral (series) and he’s a proven player (on the big stage).”
Rohit Sharma slammed 5 centuries in the 2019 World Cup, a world record in a single ICC event.
The third player in Shikhar Dhawan’s team would be the fiery Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who was the leading wicket-taker in the last two World Cups, and was the Player of the Tournament in 2015 WC which Australia won.
“I’ll go for Mitchell Starc as he is one of the best fast bowlers (in the world),” Dhawan added.
Superstar Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan is the 4th pick by Dhawan. With the tournament happening in India, Shikhar Dhawan expects Rashid to do well.
“The fourth player will be Rashid Khan with his mystery action. I am sure he’ll be very, very impactful (in India) and will take lots of wickets.”
And last, the 37-year-old India cricketer opted to include South African speedster Kagiso Rabada in his side.
“Rabada has that extra pace and extra bounce that is going to rush the batters,” Dhawan explained.
