Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa feels that skipper Rohit Sharma will be more confident to throw the ball to Venkatesh Iyer in the future as the all-rounder earned his respect as far as his bowling is concerned.
Team India outclassed New Zealand in the third T20I in Kolkata to complete the 3-0 whitewash. The Rohit Sharma-led side displayed clinical performances with both and ball throughout the series.
Debutant Venkatesh Iyer also chipped in and played a role in Team’s series win. He played crucial innings with the bat in all three matches and also proved his mettle with the ball in the last T20I.
The all-rounder didn’t bowl in the first two games, but he finally got a chance in the third game and he made it count by returning with figures of 1/12 in 3 overs as India completed a comfortable 73-run victory over New Zealand.
Speaking in ESPNCricinfo, Robin Uthappa said Venkatesh Iyer earned Rohit Sharma’s respect with the way he bowled in the last game and the skipper will be more confident to throw the ball to him in the future.
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“The way Venkatesh Iyer bowled will give Rohit a lot more confidence to throw the ball to him in different situations in the future. I think it was a matter of Venkatesh Iyer earning Rohit’s respect as far as his bowling was concerned. With the way he bowled today, he actually did that,” Robin Uthappa said.
Robin Uthappa said that with T20 World Cup 2022 next year, Team India need to find out that if Iyer’s bowling is good enough for a place like Australia. He added that it remains to be seen if his all-rounder prowess will fit into the team moving forward or not.
“They have to reevaluate and (find out) if Venkatesh Iyer’s bowling is good enough in a place like Australia. They started that path today by actually giving him a bowl to see what he can do. Whether his all-round prowess can fit into the team moving forward towards that World Cup (remains to be seen)," he said.
Team India will now face New Zealand in the two-match Test series. The first match will be played from 25th November in Kanpur while the second Test will be played in Mumbai from 3rd December.
(ESPNCricinfo inputs)
