Following a seven-wicket loss to New Zealand in the series opener game in Auckland on Friday, where India were criticised for playing a bowler short, captain Shikhar Dhawan and head coach VVS Laxman made two changes for the second game in Hamilton on Sunday. In an effort to improve bowling depth, Sanju Samson and Shardul Thakur were sidelined in favor of Deepak Hooda and Deepak Chahar.
Former India cricketer Ashish Nehra, though, was perplexed by the pick and urged the management to show some continuity.
On Friday, India used five bowlers as New Zealand easily chased down the target of 307 with 17 balls to spare. Samson had struck a 38-ball 36 in the series opener while also putting up a key 96-run stand with Shreyas Iyer that helped India recover after a quick wicket fall. Nonetheless, India chose to drop Samson, who had previously missed the whole T20I series despite being a member of the team.
However, Nehra was more concerned with the reasoning behind the selection choices in a conversation with broadcasters Prime Video. He admitted Chahar was a better option than Thakur, but believed it was unfair to drop Sanju after only one game, given India’s support for the latter in the series opener.
“I hope they haven’t picked Deepak Hooda for his bowling. You have Washington Sundar, yes, he bowled well, picked up a few wickets in the T20Is. He’s your sixth option, but not a great sixth option. Two changes India have made today, first thing, I don’t feel two wrongs make a right because it’s not that Shardul Thakur hasn’t done well. But before Thakur it should have been Deepak Chahar. Now you have gone with Thakur and it is harsh to drop after one game,” he said.
“Even if you see Sanju Samson, I would have played Hooda ahead of Sanju Samson because he was part of the World Cup squad and then suddenly he is nowhere. You should definitely have a 6th bowling option. That bowling option for me is not Deepak Hooda, but Deepak Chahar,” he added.
Meanwhile, former left-arm spinner Kartik argued Samson’s exclusion was unfair given his performance in the first ODI and the home series against South Africa prior to the T20 World Cup.
Kartik believes it is difficult to see a talent like Samson miss out because of India’s inability to field batting all-rounders.
“You want bowling options, unfortunately for India, the top 6 that we have here, the top 6 none of them bowl. And I said this before as well, it’s tough on Sanju Samson. We all keep talking about how good he is,” Karthik said.
The 2nd ODI between India-New Zealand was abandoned due to rain with just 12 overs of play. New Zealand lead the series 1-0 and the final will be played on Wednesday in Christchurch.
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