Former India opener Aakash Chopra believes the team management’s selection thinking does not currently match his own, questioning the decision to leave out Nitish Kumar Reddy from the first T20I against the West Indies in Lucknow.
India began the five-match series with an eight-wicket win on Tuesday after bowling out the West Indies for 171 and chasing down the target with 32 balls to spare.
While Chopra felt Reddy should have featured in the series opener, he also praised Naman Dhir for making a strong impact after being trusted with the ball.
“The spinners took eight (seven) wickets. Personally, I would put my hand up. I thought Nitish Kumar Reddy should have been played. If you are not going to play Nitish now, when are you going to play him? My thinking and the Indian team's alignment are not sitting together,” he said in a video shared on his YouTube channel, 'Aakash Chopra.'
Dhir justified the faith shown in him by returning figures of 3/31 from his four overs. His three wickets came immediately after he had been hit for a six, with Shai Hope, Romario Shepherd and Shamar Springer all dismissed following maximums off the previous delivery.
Chopra was particularly impressed by the way Dhir adjusted his bowling and responded to the pressure.
“However, there is one thing for sure. This team has great confidence in Naman Dhir. They feel this guy has a huge upside, which is correct. He bats very well, and they are repeatedly making him bowl along with that. Only five bowlers were used, and he picked up three wickets, where he also applied his brain,” the cricketer-turned-commentator observed.
“He got hit for a six and bowled the next ball slightly far and slow. Then he bowled a slightly flat and full ball to Romario Shepherd on his legs and got hit for a six. He got the next ball to drift away with a round arm. That tells you that the guy is thinking and is executing that skill after that. The seam position was good. So, a lot of things were super impressive about Naman Dhir,” he added.
Dhir removed Hope after the West Indies batter made 52 off 37 balls, before dismissing Shepherd for 7 off 5 and Springer for 9 off 7.
Chopra also criticised the West Indies for failing to make the most of the conditions, arguing that the hosts should have been chasing a much higher total. He praised Kuldeep Yadav, who took 2/33 in four overs, and Axar Patel, who returned 2/26 from 3.1 overs, but felt the West Indies batting unit failed to capitalise.
“Kuldeep Yadav picked up two wickets. Axar Patel bowled the sixth over as a maiden and picked up Rovman Powell's wicket in that. West Indies, you didn't bat well. This was a pitch on which 200 should have been scored easily. Your batting was extremely ordinary, and you reached 170,” he said.
Shai Hope and Sherfane Rutherford were the only West Indies batters to make substantial contributions, with Hope scoring 52 and Rutherford hitting 56 off 34 balls.
Chopra also pointed to Mayank Yadav's performance as an area of concern. The fast bowler, returning from injury, finished with 1/40 from his four overs and appeared to rely heavily on slower deliveries.
“You left a lot on the pitch. Hope scored a fifty and another fifty by Sherfane Rutherford, but what happened in the middle was avoidable. Mayank Yadav was slightly expensive. It felt like he was slightly rusty, as he is returning from injury and hasn't played a lot of cricket,” Chopra observed.
Only Akeal Hosein, who made 15 off 9, and Kamil Pooran, with 12 off 11, joined Hope and Rutherford in reaching double figures for the West Indies.
India's bowlers ultimately kept the visitors to 171 before Shreyas Iyer's unbeaten 102 off 43 balls powered the hosts to a comfortable victory and a 1-0 series lead.
