He 'Finished' Washington Sundar's Chances, Now Debutant India Star Impresses A Legend

Naman Dhir (left) has impressed with his bowling vs West Indies.© X/Twitter

Naman Dhir has had an impressive T20I debut series so far. While he primarily played as a batter for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, Dhir has impressed with his bowling in the ongoing T20I series against the West Indies. He took three wickets in the first T20I and scalped two in the third. He came in as a replacement for Washington Sundar. After the first T20I, 1983 World Cup winner Krishnamachari Srikkanth was impressed with Dhir. "Naman Dhir has now come in at Washington Sundar's place as a replacement player. Washington Sundar keeps getting injured after every two matches. Now Naman Dhir has come in as his replacement and finished him. How can you drop Naman Dhir now from ODIs and T20Is? He has immediately grabbed that spot. Now Washington Sundar can only play for India in Test cricket," Srikkanth was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda on his YouTube channel.

Ravichandran Ashwin was also impressed with Dhir after the third T20I.

"He is not a regular frontline off-spinner, but there has been significant improvement in his bowling, and he is bowling fearlessly. I really like what he is doing. He is emerging as another option for India as an off-spinning all-rounder. He was a little expensive yesterday, but he picked up Shimron Hetmyer's wicket, which was a crucial breakthrough. Let's leave out Kamil Pooran's wicket, as that came towards the end after a big over. But I thought he showed all the signs of a bowler who is ready to step up and learn," he said.

"He made a few execution errors yesterday, bowling slightly fuller than intended. That happens to bowlers. You don't find the right length every day, in every condition or at every ground. Quite often, because of the ground conditions, the pitch may be slightly elevated, which affects your length. In Indore, the bowler's run-up will be on a lower level while the pitch is elevated. In those conditions, your front-foot landing might not be timed properly, causing you to pitch the ball slightly fuller. The more he bowls in different conditions, the more he will learn naturally. However, he is willing to learn and is showing that as well."

The 26-year-old Naman Dhir has also been picked for the T20I series against New Zealand, which starts on October 22.

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