‘Surya will do great’

Opener Shikhar Dhawan is all set to lead India in the first ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo todayThe lefthanded batsman Indiarsquos standin captain for this tour has done his homework and even finalised the team combination However he preferred not to reveal who he would walk out to open the innings with at the R Premadasa Stadium against the 1996 world championslsquoPlaying XI finalisedrsquoDhawan 35 has three specialist openersmdashPrithvi Shaw Devdutt Padikkal and Ruturaj Gaikwadmdashin his 20member squad ldquoWe have finalised the opening partner and team as well which we are going to disclose tomorrow Sundayrdquo said Dhawan during a virtual press conference on the eve of first ODI when asked by Sunday midday about his opening partner for todayrsquos gameTeam India skipper Shikhar Dhawan right with coach Rahul Dravid PicBCCIDhawan even avoided mentioning Shaw when asked what kind of batting approach he would like to see from his Delhi Capitalsrsquo opening partner and Mumbairsquos Suryakumar Yadav ldquoOf course Surya has performed so well in domestic as well as international matches which he played recently against England He is a very talented boy and I am sure that he is going to do great in this series he is in great touchrdquo remarked Dhawan who has amassed 5977 runs in142 ODIs Shaw 21 has represented the country in three ODIs in which he has scored a total of 84 runs but hasnrsquot made his T20I debut He played a vital role in Mumbairsquos Vijay Hazare Trophy triumph last March when he scored four centuries in eight games Also Read Shikhar needs to score big to grab T20 WC spot AgarkarSuryakumar 30 a middleorder batsman who has 89 runs under his belt in three T20Is is yet to play ODI cricketDhawan felt the series in Sri Lanka comprising three ODIs and as many T20Is is important for every player The T20 World Cup is not very far away scheduled to be played in the United Arab Emirates from October 17 When asked how crucial this series is for him as there will be tough competition for the opening slot in Indiarsquos T20 World Cup team Dhawan said performance does matter Indiarsquos whiteball vicecaptain Rohit Sharma is a natural choice for the openerrsquos role while KL Rahul is competing for the other slot on the T20 World Cup rosterFocus on T20 World CupldquoEach player knows the worth of each and every match whether there will be a World Cup next or not Every player wants to give his best and be consistent Absolutely there is competition for the opening slot for T20 WC in our team and that is a very good sign I just want whoever is playing here in Lanka to perform the best and win If we play well doors for the World Cup squad will open automatically be it anyonerdquo Dhawan explainedAlso Read Shikhar Dhawan on Rahul Dravid We have good chemistry