Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan said that batting all-rounder Naman Dhir has been picked mostly because of his off-spin bowling in the squad for the upcoming ODI series against the West Indies. He earned his maiden national call-up after his stunning performance in the recent Sher-E-Punjab T20 League 2026. He finished as the tournament’s highest run-scorer with 655 runs at an average of almost 73 and a strike rate of 217.61 in 10 matches as well.

Talking about Naman Dhir’s selection on Star Sports, Pathan said: “I really admire him, and he has great talent. But he has been selected more for his off-spin bowling skill than his domestic performances. Because it’s not as if there aren’t other better-performing players in domestic cricket. His bowling skill is missing from the Indian team without Washington Sundar and with Riyan Parag injured.”

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Irfan Pathan also urged the Indian team management to play Yashasvi Jaiswal as much as possible in ODIs before next year’s World Cup as well. With Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill being India’s ODI openers, Jaiswal has played only sparingly in the ODI format as well.

“My eyes will be mainly on Jaiswal in this series. I want to see how much of an opportunity he gets in this series. He is certain to be the back-up opener for the 2027 World Cup. It should not be that he has not gotten enough game time going into South Africa for the World Cup. So whenever the opportunity arises, he must play regularly,” Irfan Pathan concluded.