IND vs NZ: Daniel Vettori wants Rohit Sharma to use Venkatesh Iyer as bowler

Former New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori has pitched to Indian T20I skipper Rohit Sharma to use allrounder Venkatesh Iyer as a bowler in ongoing India vs New Zealand three-match T20I series. Iyer made his international debut for India, during the first T20I between both teams at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Wednesday. Although he scored his first runs in the match, skipper Rohit Sharma didn’t feel the need to use Iyer in the bowling line-up. However, while talking to ESPN Cricinfo, the former Kiwi spinner said that bilateral series like the ongoing one, serve as the audition for players to deal with the pressure in international cricket.

Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo about Venkatesh Iyer, Vettori suggested Rohit Sharma use Iyer as the sixth bowling option in the Indian bowling unit. Explaining the same, Vettori added, “ That's the point of these bilateral series, to find out about cricketers. To find out about how they deal with international cricket and how they respond to pressure situations. I think that to compliment the rest of the bowling attack and to see if they can fit in another all-rounder, Iyer should definitely bowl one or two overs”. 

Hardik Pandya played the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 mostly as a batter

As mentioned in the report, Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa also felt the same and went on to say that India vs New Zealand series serves as the opportunity for Rohit Sharma. He insisted Rohit should try out different options within the team and keep the replacement of players like Hardik Pandya and others in hand. Pandya was selected in the Indian squad for the recently concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 as a pure batter, however, India felt the need for an extra bowler and Pandya bowled a few overs towards the end of the tournament.

What led to Venkatesh Iyer's selection in the Indian squad?

Meanwhile, Iyer was chosen for the Indian T20I squad against New Zealand, following his phenomenal debut season in the Indian Premier League(IPL) 2021 playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR). He debuted during the second leg of IPL 2021 in UAE and went on to score 370 runs in total for KKR in 10 matches. Using his all-rounder skills, he also finished the tournament with three wickets to his name. Despite not playing the first half of the tournament, Iyer finished as the fourth-highest run-scorer for the Kolkata-based team below, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, and Venkatesh Iyer.

(Image: Twitter- @Middlesex_CCC/ Instagram- @indiancricketteam)