Team India will be looking to level the series against New Zealand in the third ODI on Wednesday. After the kiwis won the first ODI, the second match got washed out at Hamilton. The most notable exclusion from the playing eleven from the second game was Sanju Samson who was benched to make way for all-rounder Deepak Hooda.
Explaining India’s decision to drop Samson stand-in skipper Shikhar Dhawan said that the team wanted a sixth bowling option in their lineup. India missed a sixth bowler in the second ODI after Tom Latham took the Indian bowling attack to the cleaners. Hence, Samson had to be benched to bring all-rounder Deepak Hooda in the 2nd ODI.
Expressing his views about India’s selection problems on YouTube, former Indian opener Aakash Chopra recalled how former players like Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar used to bowl to take the burden off the strike bowlers.
The batters have completely stopped bowling : Aakash Chopra
“Why do our batters don’t bowl? The likes of Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar used to bowl but now no one bowls. The batters have completely stopped bowling in the nets, they either bat or field and then they leave. So it is a big problem,” Chopra said.
The former India opener turned cricket analyst further explained why the team is finding it hard to produce part-time bowlers. “Now the Indian team takes four net bowlers along with them everywhere and then there are two who throw with the side-arm. So, the bowlers’ batting is improving because they bat against the side-armers, both the batters and bowlers are doing the same thing,” Chopra added.
India have failed to register a win in the last five ODIs in New Zealand. On their previous tour in 2021, the ‘Men-in-Blue’ got whitewashed 3-0. The young team India will look to finally end the win drought by beating the blackcaps on Wednesday at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. It will be interesting to see which team combination captain Dhawan picks for the final match of the tour.
