Simon Doull, a former New Zealand fast bowler and commentator, slammed the Indian cricket team for failing to address a serious issue that has plagued them for a long time, despite their repeated failures in major ICC events, most recently in the T20 World Cup 2022.
Doull said that batting has never been an issue with Team India, but it was the lack of bowling depth or batting all-rounders in the team that cost them heavily in the big matches. Despite that, India has not started working on this issue, as he feels the Men in Blue should now start playing with batters who can contribute with the ball as well, at least in T20I cricket.
His comments came after India’s 65-run win over New Zealand in the second T20I at Bay Oval, where Deepak Hooda returned with the impressive figures of 4/10 with his off-spin.
After the match, the stand-in captain, Hardik Pandya, also said that he wanted to see how other batters could contribute with the ball going forward, which is why he didn’t bowl in the second T20I against New Zealand on Sunday (November 20).
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Taking this into account, Doull said that "genuine batters" like Shreyas Iyer must learn how to bowl to give their captain an extra bowling option.
Speaking on Prime Video, Simon Doull said: “That has always been the problem. When Hardik was injured...what do we do next? I mean, Shardul Thakur did a great job in the Test series in Australia. These guys around will do. But I am talking about the genuine batters like Shreyas Iyer.”
The New Zealander wants Iyer to develop his skills with the ball, as modern-day cricket needs a multi-dimensional cricketer. Doull added, “I want Shreyas Iyer to be turning his arm over. I want them to be practicing in the nets. Deepak Hooda actually puts some time in, he does practice his bowling. He wants to bowl, he wants to be a part of this side and he wants to be an option.”
He signed off by saying, “Shreyas Iyer - why is he not using more offspin? Not that there are any shortage of spinners in Indian team to go and learn how to bowl off spin. Why is he not doing it? That is my question around the situation. These young men need to know what their future holds.”
