Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri was all praise for the younger crop of cricketers after Shikhar Dhawan's Team India capped off their white-ball tour to New Zealand on Wednesday. After a bitter-sweet campaign at the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, India's seasoned campaigners Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul were rested for the twin white-ball series between the two World Cup semi-finalists in New Zealand.
With Christchurch's notorious weather taking centre stage on Wednesday, India failed to restore parity in the 3rd ODI as Kane Williamson-led New Zealand sealed a 1-0 series win over the visitors. Leading India's batting charge in the third and final ODI of the bilateral series, premier batter Shreyas Iyer played a gritty knock of 49 off 59 balls. Indian pacer Umran Malik bagged the crucial wicket of Finn Allen (57) before the rain-marred encounter ended in a no-result at Hagley Oval.
Speaking exclusively on Prime Video’s post-match coverage, former India coach Shastri opened up about the performances of the Indian youngsters in the ODI squad. Shastri, who believes that a lot of positives have come from the recently concluded One-Day series, showered praise on star batters Iyer, Shubman Gill and pace ace Umran. The former India all-rounder and 1983 World Cup winner also lauded Washington Sundar for his batting exploits against the Black Caps.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking exclusively on Prime Video’s post-match coverage, former India coach Shastri opened up about the performances of the Indian youngsters in the ODI squad. Shastri, who believes that a lot of positives have come from the recently concluded One-Day series, showered praise on star batters Iyer, Shubman Gill and pace ace Umran. The former India all-rounder and 1983 World Cup winner also lauded Washington Sundar for his batting exploits against the Black Caps.
{{/usCountry}}“Shreyas Iyer getting runs in a couple of matches. Willing to stay there and willing to go through the tough period. Suryakumar of course has the potential, has the talent, and he will deliver. Washington Sundar I thought was very good. And even Umran Malik, I like the way he bowled. There’s potential there. If he can persevere, it will be very good. All around, there was very positive Shubman Gill at the start of the innings,” Shastri said.
Pacer Malik emerged as the most successful bowler for India in the New Zealand series. The speedster bagged three wickets in the recently concluded ODI series. "These conditions are tough, you don’t get these conditions often, and you don’t travel to New Zealand that often. So I think for young cricketers to come here and get this kind of exposure is excellent. The weather and the ground dimensions need to be taken into account,” Shastri added.