The former explosive Indian opener Virender Sehwag believes that Virat Kohli’s side would have the benefit of having former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in their team.

The Kings XI Punjab coach Sehwag also revealed that if  Virat Kohli’s side wanted to be the first to clinch a series in the Rainbow Nation, then they need to start the series on a good note.

While talking to India TV, Virender Sehwag said, “In ODI cricket, Kohli also has MS Dhoni, who is always there to point out his flaws unlike in Test cricket. You will see Dhoni giving suggestions to Kohli, you will see him set the field… this is definitely a benefit.”

“It is very important to win the first match because it gives you the right momentum for the rest of the series. If you lose the first match, you are under pressure. If India plays like they did in Johannesburg, they might create history,” Virender Sehwag added.

Indian cricket team is set to play six-match One Day International series in South Africa starting Thursday, February 1 in Durban.

The team selection of India and lack of preparation for the longest format of the game series was blamed after visitors were thrashed by 2-1 in the recently concluded three-match Test series.

Even though Virat’s side lost the chance to be the first ever Indian side to win a Test series on Proteas soil, yet they will be high on confidence with their consolation win in the last Test match.

When the visitors will face the hosts for the opening ODI match in Durban, they will look to avenge their Test defeat.

Interestingly, Indian side have lost all seven ODI series, including a couple of tri-series that they have played on South Africa soil.

Notably, the Asian giant have never beaten South Africa at the Kingsmead in Durban in their last seven faceoffs since their first ODI in December 1992.

Meanwhile, there is a good news for the Indian team, as South African batsman AB de Villiers has been ruled out from the first three match of the series.

“This is great news from the Indian perspective that AB de Villiers will not play the first three ODIs because he is one such player who can change the course of the game anytime. India have a good chance to capitalise on this and win at least two of the first three matches,” Sehwag said.

“Durban has always been a challenging wicket for India. The onus will be on openers – Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. They need to give a good start to the team and set a platform for the middle order,” he added.

Teams:

India: Virat Kohli (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur.

South Africa: Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wk), JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Lungisani Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Khayelihle Zondo.