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After India lost the three-match Test series against a strong South African unit, KL Rahul and co. would have been eyeing a positive start in the ODI series. All eyes were on the series opener last evening but the Proteas won the first ODI comprehensively by 31 runs. Having said that, one player that everyone was excited to see in the Indian playing eleven was Venkatesh Iyer. After an impressive debut season for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League season, Iyer got the opportunity to debut in ODIs by donning the blues. However, what was most discussed about him was that the all-rounder did not get a single over to bowl.
After the match, Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan went on to explain why Venkatesh Iyer did not get a single over to bowl in the 1st ODI. Dhawan opined that India did not need the services of Iyer as the spinners had done well and there was some turn on offer. He added that India turned to their main bowlers when the wickets were not falling in the South African innings and towards the end, India turned to their spinners.
Dhawan mentioned,"We didn’t need him because the spinners did well and there was some turn in the wicket. Fast bowlers were mostly used at the end. In the middle-overs when the wicket was not falling, our thinking was to bring back the main bowlers to get the breakthrough but we couldn’t do that. Then, in the end, it was important to bring our main bowlers, like our spinners."
It will all get refined with time and experience: Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan also shared his opinion for the youngsters of the Indian squad. The left-hander said that a batter should play according to the needs of the team, and added that a batter should always put his team first, youngsters will get refined as they gain experience.
He said, "That you need to play according to the demands of the situation, should always put the team first, that your individual game is important but at the same time practicality and knowing how much you can mould your game for the team is also important. Like if the team needs a partnership, then you should build one and those kind of things. And I feel that it will all get refined with time and experience."
Team India will look to bounce back stronger in the 2nd ODI game which takes place tomorrow.