Venkatesh Iyer ODI Debut: Rising youngster Venkatesh Iyer is likely to make his ODI debut in the upcoming South Africa tour. India is set to tour South Africa to play 3 match Test series and as many as ODI match series.
Rohit Sharma is appointed as the new white-ball skipper for team India while Virat Kohli remains as the skipper for Test format matches.
Though BCCI President Sourav Ganguly explains the Real reason behind Rohit Sharma’s appointment as white-ball skipper, fans still create many conspiracy theories to stir the settled Indian team.
Venkatesh Iyer ODI Debut
Apart from these issues, KKR’s star performer of IPL 2021 Venkatesh Iyer is in line to make his ODI debut after playing T20Is for India and is likely to be named in the ODI squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa.
In his debut campaign in the IPL, Iyer scored 370 runs and picked up 3 wickets in the tournament.
Venkatesh Iyer continues his aggressive form in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy where he is currently the second-highest run-getter of the tournament with 348 runs from four matches so far.
“Venkatesh is surely going to South Africa. He is bowling 9 or 10 overs in every game and with Hardik still recuperating, it is the best time to give him chance and get him battle-ready for the bigger events ahead,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by PTI.
With Hardik Pandya currently recovering from his injury at the National Cricket Academy, selectors are certain to pick Iyer as an all-rounder in India’s ODI squad for the South Africa series.
Apart from his explosive batting, Venky continues to impress the selectors with his bowling capabilities. A much-needed role for current team India in the absence of Hardik Pandya.
“The new team management absolutely did the right thing in advising him to bat in the middle order. As of now, if he doesn’t get injured, Venkatesh is a certainty for the South Africa one-dayers,” said the BCCI source.
Ruturaj Gaikwad Expected to add in SA Tour
Though he is an opening batsman, Venkatesh Iyer is likely to use as a middle-order player for team India. As the current Indian team is flooded with many opening batsmen, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul will continue to be the opening pair. Notably, Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad are also in the backyard for the opening role.
While Gaikwad has been knocking at the selectors’ door for a while now, the right-hander might still be behind Shikhar Dhawan in the pecking order.
Dhawan is likely to get a few chances in the ODI series against South Africa before he is sidelined for someone like Gaikwad.
“Technically, last time India played 50-over series, Dhawan was leading India and also had a match-winning knock in Sri Lanka,” the BCCI source told PTI.
“He has the ability to score runs just when he has back to the wall. So while Gaikwad should be there in the squad, I think selectors might give one last chance to Dhawan, maybe take him and give him a game or two,” he added.
Notably, the India tour of South Africa is the first overseas tour for team India under the new head coach Rahul Dravid. The first test match will kickstart on December 26 with the ODI series beginning from January 19, 2022.
