Newcomer Venkatesh Iyer, who rose to fame as a hard-hitting opener for Kolkata Knight Riders, will have to adapt to batting in the middle and lower middle-order, India T20I captain Rohit Sharma said.
Venkatesh batted at six in the first and third match, and at three in the second game. The fact that Venkatesh can also chip in a few overs with his medium-pace helps his cause, Rohit added.
“He bats up the order for his franchise (KKR), but it’s going to be slightly tough for him to bat up the order in the Indian team. We’ve given him a role to bat at No. 5, 6 or 7. Today, he looked composed, he was clear in his mindset, and he had a very good approach. You saw his bowling skills — he looks a very bright prospect,” Rohit said after India sealed a 3-0 series victory over New Zealand here on Sunday.
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Quality bowler
Rohit is happy to have off-spinner R. Ashwin in the side as an “attacking option”. “Ashwin is a quality bowler. Over the years, he has proved himself with the red ball. Even with the white ball, he doesn’t have a bad record. The way he has come back in Dubai (during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup) and the two games here shows his quality.
He is an attacking option for a captain. He gives you the chance to take wickets in the middle overs, which is very important. The middle overs is where you try to put the breaks on the scoring rate while taking wickets. Ashwin provides that, along with Axar (Patel),” Rohit said.
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