India vs South Africa: Ahead of the series opener at the Boland Park in Paarl, Rahul said Venkatesh Iyer, who burst onto the scene with a breakthrough season for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2021’s Dubai leg, is being looked at as a sixth bowler.
- NDTV Sports Desk
Highlights
- KL Rahul has set his sights on finding a sixth bowler for India in ODIs
- Rahul said Venkatesh Iyer can be groomed as sixth bowler in ODIs
- Rahul will make his ODI captaincy debut in the 1st ODI vs South Africa
KL Rahul is set to make his ODI captaincy debut on Wednesday against South Africa in the first match of the three-ODI series. The right-handed opener, who is officially now a part of the leadership group, has set his sights on finding solutions to a problem which has been hurting India for quite some time now in limited-overs cricket. A sixth bowler, preferably seam or pace option, has been India’s major headache for past two and half years due to Hardik Pandya’s injury and now the team management is “excited” looking at what Venkatesh Iyer brings to the table with his multiple skill-sets. Ahead of the series opener at the Boland Park in Paarl, Rahul said Iyer, who burst onto the scene with a breakthrough season for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2021’s Dubai leg, is being looked at as a sixth bowler.
“Yes, Venkatesh Iyer has been very exciting since the time he has played for KKR in the IPL and then he joined us for the T20 series against New Zealand and he did well,” Raul said in the pre-match virtual press conference on Tuesday.
Rahul made it clear that in coming days, the lanky MP man would be bowling a lot in white-ball games.
“We are trying to develop Venkatesh (as the sixth bowling option) and we will give him that chance. He has done decently and he gives us that option as the sixth bowler.”
Iyer, who made his T20I debut in the home series against New Zealand last year, was in terrific form for Madhya Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy – India’s domestic one-day tournament.
The left-handed batter and right-arm medium pacer picked up 9 wickets in six matches and scored 379 runs including two hundreds in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
It will be interesting to see if the youngster gets his ODI cap on Wednesday. Rahul added that Iyer has looked good in the nets.
“Yes, fast bowling all-rounders are always an asset and we are always looking for fast bowling all-rounders as they balance the team out. It’s a great opportunity for Venkatesh as he is looking good in the nets,” the skipper added.