Former India pacer Zaheer Khan opined that India should have trusted Venkatesh Iyer with the ball. Iyer made his ODI debut on Wednesday against South Africa at Paarl as it didn’t turn out a fruitful one.
Iyer didn’t get a chance to roll his arm over as the proteas posted the total of 296/4 and also as he got a chance to bat, he was caught in the deep against a short ball at his individual score of 2 and India eventually fell short by 31 runs.
Venkatesh Iyer picked 9 wickets in 6 matches in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021.
Talking about the match, Zaheer Khan felt that India didn’t use their resources well. He said that KL Rahul should learn from his counterpart Temba Bavuma who exploited the conditions brilliantly. Also, Zaheer insisted that Venkatesh Iyer should have been trusted with the ball as it would have boosted the youngster’s confidence.
“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 spoke to Cricbuzz.
He also said that India should have given him the ball irrespective of the match situation as that’s the only way they would judge his bowling.
“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 overs. A player only learns from his failures. You can’t buy experience in the market,” Zaheer said.
Interestingly in his T20I debut series, Venkatesh Iyer didn’t get a chance to bowl in his first two matches. In the third match, he bowled 3 overs with figures of 1/12.
“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.
Apart from his heroics with the bat, Venkatesh Iyer also picked 9 wickets in 6 matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021-22.