Following Team India's resounding 73-run victory against New Zealand at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, cricketer Robin Uthappa has expressed satisfaction with the bowling performance of India's latest T20I recruit Venkatesh Iyer. He has stated that that skipper Rohit Sharma will be more confident to throw the ball to him in the future.
Swashbuckling left-hander Iyer was handed his T20I debut in the first game of the three-match T20I series, which India swept, in Jaipur. At the toss, Rohit had mentioned that Iyer was brought into the side as an all-rounder. However, lanky Iyer did not bowl a single delivery in the first two games. He finally got a chance in the third and he made it count by returning with figures of 1/12 in 4 overs.
Speaking about his bowling in an ESPNCricinfo show, Uthappa said:
“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.”
He added that it remains to be seen whether he would play a similar role in the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup as there is a doubt on whether his bowling is good enough for Australian pitches.
“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)," added Uthappa.
India beat the Black Caps by 5 wickets in the first game before sealing the series with a seven-wicket win in Ranchi. The two teams will now lock horns in a two-match Test series, which begins in Kanpur on November 25.