Former India opener Aakash Chopra said that India’s decision to promote Axar Patel ahead of the other all-rounders in the first T20I was strategically understandable. He, however, shared that, on a personal level, he would prefer Naman Dhir and Nitish Kumar Reddy batting ahead of Axar. However, India beat New Zealand by four wickets in Christchurch on Thursday,
October 22 as well.

During a discussion on Cricinfo, he said: “We are kind of obsessed with the fact that we need left and right-hand combination in the middle. Axar is a very capable bat. Personally, I’d like Naman, Reddy to bat before Axar Patel. But, you can still understand this. You want that left-hand, right-hand combination going so that you don’t allow Mitchell Santner to come in and finish his overs. So that’s a thought that you can still explain strategically. Though, with the kind of form that Naman has shown and Nitish Kumar Reddy, what he’s capable of, you’d rather push them up, not down.”

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Speaking after Team India’s win in the first T20I, captain Shreyas Iyer admitted that Naman’s versatility gives them additional options as well.

“Yes, absolutely he gives us a lot of options. If a lefty batsman or even the right-hander is batting especially on this ground…bowling those two-three crucial overs actually can change the momentum and I personally feel that the calm and composed nature that he showed today – it was simply magnificent to see him bat,” he said.