5 Reasons Why India will be a major title contender at the 2019 ICC World Cup 

#2 Dependable opening pair in Dhawan and Rohit

Indian ODI Openers - Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

Openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan haven’t let India feel the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir at the top of the order.

In the last five odd ODI seasons, Rohit and Shikhar have been really consistent for India providing the team with ideal starts and setting up a solid platform for the middle order to build on.

Rohit has shown his pedigree to score mammoth double hundreds and ‘Gabbar’ always steps up his game at major tournaments. Both Dhawan and Sharma enjoy the ball coming onto the bat and have runs behind their back in English conditions

The Rohit-Shikhar combination is at par with the best ODI opening pairs like Amla-De Cock, Warner-Finch and Hales-Roy.

The pair has racked up quite a few ODI century partnerships in the last five years. With the ball swinging in English conditions, India also has the luxury of moving Ajinkya Rahane up the order and getting him to negotiate the new ball.