Kohli, Rohit among Shikhar Dhawan’s initial five picks for dream ODI XI in World Cup

While selecting him in his dream ODI XI, Dhawan, speaking to ICC, labeled Kohli, a veteran of three World Cups and a previous winner on home soil in 2011, as the finest batter in the world.

New Delhi: India batter Shikhar Dhawan has revealed the first five players he would pick if he was selecting a dream XI for this year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup which includes two of his India teammates- Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Speaking to ICC, Dhawan called veteran of three World Cups and a previous winner on home soil in 2011, Kohli, the best batter in the world while picking him in his dream ODI XI.

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“The first (picked) is Virat of course. He is the best batter in the world and has been scoring runs like crazy,” Dhawan said.

Dhawan is regarded as one of the finest white-ball players in modern times and the dynamic left-hander often saves his best performances for the World Cup, with three of his 17 ODI centuries coming at the showcase 50-over event.

Just like Dhawan, Rohit also scored centuries at the two previous World Cups and the inclusion of the India captain in his dream XI is an easy one to make.

“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),” he said.

Besides his India teammates, he also included Australian pacer Mitchell Starc, Afghanistan star spinner Rashid Khan and South African quick Kagiso Rabada in his well-balanced first five players.

Starc was the leading wicket-taker at the 2019 event in England and Wales with 27 scalps while Rashid collected just six wickets in his inaugural World Cup appearance in 2019.

Dhawan thinks the left-arm pacer can again make an impact at the 2023 tournament adding that Rashid will be more suited to the pitches in the sub-continent.

“I’ll go for Mitchell Starc as he is one of the best fast bowlers (in the world),” Dhawan noted. “The fourth player will be Rashid Khan with his mystery action,” Dhawan said with a grin. I am sure he’ll be very, very impactful (in India) and will take lots of wickets” he said.

Dhawan was tempted to opt for Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi but elected to go with Rabada as he wanted more variety in his attack.

“Shaheen Afridi I wouldn’t take because then there would be two left-arm pacers, so I’ll go for Rabada. Rabada has that extra pace and extra bounce that is going to rush the batters,” Dhawan said.