KL Rahul or Shikhar Dhawan will have to sit out in first ODI against Australia, confirms Vikram Rathour

The Indian team has now had a very good headache on their hands given that both Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul both did well in the recently concluded T20I series against Sri Lanka. Rahul had done well in the previous series against West Indies as well, in absence of Shikhar Dhawan, who was injured and out of the playing XI.

Dhawan came back with a brilliant fifty in the third T20I against Sri Lanka as Rohit Sharma was rested from the series. Rahul continued his good run in his absence and has more or less confirmed his place. The left-hander, on the other hand, was having a torrid run of affairs against South Africa and Bangladesh, failing to impress with the bat and his injury gave Rahul a chance which he took with both hands. Now it remains to be seen which one of them partners Rohit Sharma in the upcoming ODI series against Australia.

Vikram Rathour says Rohit Sharma is an obvious choice 

Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour attended a press conference on the eve of the first ODI between India and Australia at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Rathour talked about the dilemma of the opening combination, given that Rohit Sharma is set to make his return to the Men in Blue side. Rathour mentioned that both Rahul and Dhawan had done well in recent matches and it has become a dilemma for them.

Rohit Sharma had a rollicking 2019 with five centuries in the ICC World Cup and a couple of more during the various series before and after that, which makes him a certainty in the side. “It’s a good dilemma to have. Rohit is an obvious choice of course.

Both of them (Shikhar and Rahul) are playing well. Shikhar has done well in one-dayers and Rahul is in great form. So we’ll deal with it when we have to. There are still a couple of days to go. The management will sit down and make the choice,” Rathour was quoted as saying during the conference as quoted by IndiaToday.

The first ODI is slated to be played on January 14 in Mumbai, while the second one will be hosted by Rajkot on January 17, while the third encounter between the two sides will be played on January 19 in Bengaluru.

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