Former Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan reckons KL Rahul should give Venkatesh Iyer the ball in the remaining two ODIs to give him confidence.
Before the first ODI against South Africa, the Indian ODI captain KL Rahul stated that they will play Venkatesh Iyer as the all-rounder as they are looking to build their team for the 2023 ODI World Cup.
However, KL Rahul surprisingly didn’t give a single over to Venkatesh Iyer in the series opener. Furthermore, the left-hander also failed to make an impression with the bat as he was dismissed for only two runs.
Rahul’s decision to not bowl Venkatesh Iyer also left a lot of cricket pundits shocked as the pitch was on the slow side and the medium-pacer could have been given a couple of overs in the middle of the innings.
In fact, Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan revealed that they didn’t bowl Venkatesh Iyer as the spinners were doing a decent job in the middle overs.
On the other hand, South African captain Temba Bavuma made the most of his resources as Andile Phehlukwayo and Aiden Markram bowled five and six overs respectively and also scalped a wicket each.
‘The one thing you should learn is how Bavuma used his resources. He didn’t use seamers and spinners separately. We didn’t see either seamers or spinners operating in tandem for a long time. So, you made the best system out of resources you have,” Zaheer told Cricbuzz.
“When you talk about Venkatesh Iyer.. you should have given him the ball if you want to give him confidence. Don’t look at the match situation. If you’ve planned something.. like you said earlier that you’re planning while keeping in mind the World Cup, so you have to show confidence right now. You will have to give him over. A player only learns from his failures. You can’t buy experience in the market.”
Zaheer added that Iyer will gain confidence with the ball only when he is given the opportunity to showcase his bowling skills.
“Suppose Iyer plays 4-5 matches and you don’t give him an over.. you can’t say later that we have an all-rounder ready in him. Yes, if he bowls, he will get better. I’m not only talking about Iyer in particular, it’s about a sixth option in general. You will have to give them chances; only then you will have options. Right now, it feels like you aren’t confident enough to back him,” said Zaheer.
India lost the opening ODI by 31 runs and they will look to bounce back in the second ODI, which will be played at the same venue of Boland Park, Paarl on Friday.
