Former Indian middle-order batter Hanuma Vihari has questioned the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, for picking Naman Dhir out of nowhere for the forthcoming home ODI series against the West Indies, calling it a shocking call.
Notably, Naman Dhir earned his maiden national call-up after his heroics in the just-concluded Sher-e-Punjab T20 League, where he scored a 64-ball 173-run knock. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Vihari reckoned that Naman’s numbers aren’t convincing apart from one standout knock.
“There are many changes in the ODI team, of course, because the Asian Games is happening at the same time. But they have picked Naman Dhir. How is it possible? His domestic numbers are not convincing. Yes, he played a big knock in the Punjab league, and even for Mumbai Indians he has won some games, but it has been up and down. I have my doubts, and it is shocking,” Vihari said on his YouTube channel.
Further, Vihari believed that the only reason behind Naman Dhir’s selection could be his ability to bowl in the middle overs. In List A cricket, Naman has amassed 351 runs from 11 innings with four half-centuries. With the ball, he has scalped seven wickets in this format.
“The only reason I can think of is that, yes, he is a good batter, but he can also bowl. In the ODI setup, there is no one in the top six who can bowl well. Jadeja has come back. But who else bowls in the top six? I think that is why they brought Naman Dhir,” he added.
India’s ODI team vs West Indies: Shubman Gill [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul [VC], Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Auqib Nabi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Naman Dhir.
