After clinching the T20I series 1-0, Men in blue are all set to focus on the ODI series against New Zealand. Team India is gearing up to resume its rivalry with the Black Caps when they take on the hosts in the first ODI at Eden Park on Friday (November 25). With T20I stand-in Hardik Pandya rested, veteran Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan will lead team India in the three-match series against the Black Caps.

Speaking ahead of the series opener, veteran batter Dinesh Karthik backed stand-in skipper Dhawan to feature for team India at the 2023 ODI World Cup. Karthik admitted that Dhawan is definitely a starter for the World Cup, otherwise, the team management would not be having him around. The wicket-keeper batter said that the left-handed opener is obviously on the other side of 30 and the management could easily move on from him.

But just the fact that the management gives him chances to play shows that they are very keen about having Dhawan in the ODI team. Karthik expressed that Dhawan has been a gun player in the ICC tournaments and is a batter who rises to the occasion. The 36-year-old opener has played at a fair clip consistently.

Karthik also highlighted Dhawan’s exploits in the 2019 fifty-over World Cup, where he slammed a match-winning century against Australia. But he was ruled out of the 2019 tournament with a thumb injury. Karthik concluded that Dhawan is a player, who knows his game plan very well and the team can trust him completely as an opener.