Venkatesh Iyer made his 50-over debut in the first ODI against South Africa.
Iyer received his maiden ODI cap in the series opener but he was not asked to roll his arm over even though India’s bowling attack struggled on a slow track at Boland Park.
Speaking to Star Sports, Aakash wondered whether the team management sees Iyer an all-round option, pointing out that the latter was not given a lot of overs in his debut T20I series against New Zealand last year.
Notably, Venkatesh Iyer impressed the selectors and made it to the national team following his all-round exploits in the second phase of IPL 2021 for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
"That baffled me. With regards to not bowling Venkatesh Iyer, it's not only KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma did the same thing in the 2 T20Is against New Zealand. He was bowled only after India won the series he bowled," Chopra said.
"In the pre-match press conference, KL Rahul said he would use Venkatesh Iyer as the 6th bowling option. There were many, many moments in this game to see what he could actually do. He could have leaked a few runs but ODI cricket is one format that allows a bowler to leak a few runs and make a comeback later on," he added.
According to Aakash Chopra, India should play either Suryakumar Yadav or Ishan Kishan in the middle-order if they are not going to exploit Venkatesh Iyer's bowling skills.
"So, it's just us who are seeing Venkatesh Iyer as an all-rounder. It seems the Indian think tak, the team management and the leadership group, they don't see him as an all-rounder is the understanding or feeling you get from the outside," Chopra stated.
"It's now his 4th game for India and he has been on the field for close to 110 overs, he has bowled I think only 2-3 overs and that too in a dead rubber. I can't make head or tail of it. If he is not going to bowl, then play either Suryakumar Yadav or Ishan Kishan," he further remarked.
Coming to the match, South Africa posted 296/4 in their allotted 50 overs in the first ODI. Rassie van der Dussen (129* off 96 balls) and Temba Bavuma (110 off 143 balls) starred with the bat, hitting centuries after the hosts were reduced to 68/3 at one stage.
Jasprit Bumrah was the stand-out bowler for India, claiming two wickets by conceding 48 runs in his 10 overs.