I would not call Shikhar Dhawan-led men second string Indian ODI side: Keshav Maharaj

South African spinner Keshav Maharaj opined that the current Indian ODI team led by Shikhar Dhawan is not second string and heaped praise on the abundant talent available in the Asian nation. Regular skipper Rohit Sharma and his 14-man T20 World Cup squad have already departed to Australia for the mega ICC event which starts on October 16th.  

India have been using two different teams simultaneously for different formats to manage the workload and it has presented the chances to test the youngsters like Shubman Gill on the bigger stages. Despite the absence of the big names like Virat Kohli, India have still produced dominating performances in Ireland and most recently Zimbabwe.  

There are world class performers out there: Keshav Maharaj  

Maharaj mentioned that he wouldn’t call his current opponents as second-string and hailed the strong bench strength in the Indian side. He went on to reckon the significance of IPL while also noting that some of the players in the squad have enough international experience as well. The 32- year-old termed India’s batting line up as world class and was delighted to play against the subcontinent nation.  

"I would not call it a second-string Indian side. India have so much talent that they can field four-five proper international sides. Having said that, a lot of the guys have IPL and have international experience. There are world class performers out there. It's always nice to play well against India. Obviously, you want to prepare yourself. They have a world class batting line up,” Maharaj was quoted as saying by Times of India.  

Meanwhile, Maharaj was one of the star performers in the first ODI in Lucknow as he put a massive break on the scoring rate and picked up the wicket of Ishan Kishan The left arm spinner has been impressive on the field with his catching while he keeps contributing down the order with the bat. The second ODI between India and South Africa is scheduled to take place on October 9th at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi.