India vs Australia 2020: Shikhar Dhawan ready to sacrifice opener’s slot

India were absolutely hammered by Australia as they chased down a modest target of 256 will all 10 wickets intact. This defeat inevitably raised a lot of questions but one of the biggest questionable decisions was the decision to play all three openers and demote Virat Kohli at number four.

Kohli has arguably been India's finest batsman over the past decade and he almost has had all of the success at the number three position. But just for accommodating both KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan alongside Rohit Sharma, Kohli demoted himself at number four. Although it showed his selflessness as a skipper, it backfired big time on the team.

He was watchful at the start but has now opened up. Take a look at @SDhawan25's twin fours as he takes on Pat Cummins. Full video here - https://t.co/pFmxrvi54O #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/eD2rfOtyyt

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 14, 2020

However, Dhawan did full justice to his selection as he scored 74 off 91 balls but got out at a crucial juncture from where India's innings derailed. Although he did well, he was ready to give up on his opener's role if the team required.

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Dhawan, who opened the batting with Rohit Sharma, said at the post-match press conference,

“If they (team management) ask me to bat at No.3, of course, I’ll do it. Anything for my country, for sure.

“You have to be mentally strong, all the boys are mentally strong, that’s why they’ve been playing international cricket and its part of the journey, sometimes you’ve to switch numbers as well.”

Dhawan defended Kohli's decision of backing Rahul at number three because he was in some fantastic form going into the first ODI. He also later revealed that Kohli might rethink this decision of his and may be back at number three for the second ODI at Rajkot on January 17.

The left-handed batsman continued,

“See that is a captain’s choice, KL is batting well, he did well in the last series and he played really well and he played well today.

“I feel it is the captain’s choice where he wants to play and he has done amazing at No. 3, maybe I feel, he will think about it to go at number three again.”