The Numbers Game (ODIs): Shikhar Dhawan vs Rohit Sharma vs KL Rahul

Team India finished at the T20 World Cup 2022 after getting knocked out by England in the semi-finals. While Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav were the heroes for the Men in Blue in their journey to the semis, the biggest disappointment came at the hands of openers – Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.

Both Rohit and Rahul failed on the big stage and were unable to give India solid starts throughout the tournament. The duo was criticised for their unimpressive strike rate, and that led fans to question as to why senior member Shikhar Dhawan wasn’t considered for opening the batting since both Rohit and Rahul struggled in the strike rate debate.

Notably, the BCCI has often given strike rate as the reason behind dropping Dhawan from the shortest format. But after Rahul and Rohit’s disappointing show, many experts endorsed Dhawan’s inclusion in the side. Now that the T20 World Cup is done and dusted, the focus is towards the upcoming One-Day International (ODI) World Cup, which is scheduled to be hosted by India during October and November 2023.

Since Dhawan is a regular member of the 50-over format, so it would now be interesting to see who will open the innings in the next global showpiece event. On that note, let’s have a comparison among the three players with their respective numbers in the ODIs:

Last 10 ODI innings:

Shikhar Dhawan:

• 3rd ODI Vs SA 8 (14)
• 2nd ODI Vs SA 13 (20)
• 1st ODI Vs SA 4 (16)
• 3rd ODI Vs ZIM 40 (68)
• 2nd ODI Vs ZIM 33 (21)
• 1st ODI Vs ZIM 81* (113)
• 3rd ODI Vs WI 58 (74)
• 2nd ODI Vs WI 13 (31)
• 1st ODI Vs WI 97 (99)
• 3rd ODI Vs ENG 1 (3)

Rohit Sharma:

• 3rd ODI Vs ENG 17 (17)
• 2nd ODI Vs ENG 0 (10)
• 1st ODI Vs ENG 76* (58)
• 3rd ODI Vs WI 13 (15)
• 2nd ODI Vs WI 5 (8)
• 1st ODI Vs WI 60 (51)
• 3rd ODI Vs ENG 37 (37)
• 2nd ODI Vs ENG 25 (25)
• 1st ODI Vs ENG 28 (42)
• 3rd ODI Vs AUS 119 (128)

KL Rahul:

• 3rd ODI Vs ZIM 30 (46)
• 2nd ODI Vs ZIM 1 (5)
• 1st ODI Vs ZIM DNB
• 2nd ODI Vs WI 49 (48) – did not open
• 3rd ODI Vs SA 9 (10)
• 2nd ODI Vs SA 55 (79)
• 1st ODI Vs SA 12 (17)
• 3rd ODI Vs ENG 7 (18) – did not open
• 2nd ODI Vs ENG 108 (114) – did not open
• 1st ODI Vs ENG 62* (43) – did not open

Total number of matches:

• Dhawan: 161
• Rohit: 233
• Rahul: 45

Runs, Average and Strike rate:

• Dhawan: 6672, 45.08, and 91.78
• Rohit: 9376, 45.58, and 89.18
• Rahul: 1665, 45.00, and 87.86

Centuries and Fifties:

• Dhawan: 17 and 38
• Rohit: 29 and 45
• Rahul: 5 and 10

4’s and 6’s:

• Dhawan: 824 and 78
• Rohit: 856 and 250
• Rahul: 125 and 39