While India enjoyed a comfortable win against West Indies in the first ODI at Ahmedabad, former India opener Aakash Chopra questioned their approach with the ball.

This criticism was with respect to how the side utilised their bowling options. While Deepak Hooda, who is an all-rounder with 35 List A wickets to his name, made his debut, he did not bowl a single over. India have struggled to find a sixth bowling option for some time now, and the same was pointed out by Chopra in his tweet.

He referred to the case of Venkatesh Iyer, with the all-rounder hardly bowled in his debut ODI series against South Africa and now finding himself discarded from the side after India’s 3-0 loss. This decision to not bowl Iyer had baffled a number of fans and experts.

Chopra speculated over the reasons that the pair haven’t been trusted with the ball. “Venkatesh Iyer earlier. Hooda today. Kinda impossible to create all-rounders if they won’t get to bowl.

“Or…perhaps, selectors are picking players as all-rounders but the team management has little or no faith in their bowling abilities.”

India ended up victorious by six wickets with 22 overs to spare, but Chopra defended his point despite the decision contributing little to the result.

“Best time to try new options is when there’s little or no pressure,” he explained. “That way you prepare them for the tough assignments. You don’t throw people at the deep end on their first day at work.”

Hooda’s day still finished happily, with the No.6 making an unbeaten 26 to guide India home.

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India Series EditorialDeepak Hooda