Former India player turned commentator Aakash Chopra has said that India’s thinking is not aligned with his thought process. While wondering why Nitish Kumar Reddy wasn’t picked for the first T20I against the West Indies, he lauded Naman Dhir for making the most of his opportunity. Dhir registered figures of 3/31 in four overs as India bundled out the West Indies for 171 in Lucknow on Tuesday, October 6 as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “The spinners took eight (seven) wickets. Personally, I would put my hand up. I thought Nitish Kumar Reddy should have been played. If you are not going to play Nitish now, when are you going to play him? My thinking and the Indian team’s alignment are not sitting together.”

“However, there is one thing for sure. This team has great confidence in Naman Dhir. They feel this guy has a huge upside, which is correct. He bats very well, and they are repeatedly making him bowl along with that. Only five bowlers were used, and he picked up three wickets, where he also applied his brain,” he added.

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“He got hit for a six and bowled the next ball slightly far and slow. Then he bowled a slightly flat and full ball to Romario Shepherd on his legs and got hit for a six. He got the next ball to drift away with a round arm. That tells you that the guy is thinking and is executing that skill after that. The seam position was good. So, a lot of things were super impressive about Naman Dhir,” he stated

However, Aakash Chopra lauded Kuldeep Yadav (2/33 in four overs) and Axar Patel (2/26 in 3.1 overs) for bowling impressive spells and criticised the West Indies for an ordinary batting show as well.

“Kuldeep Yadav picked up two wickets. Axar Patel bowled the sixth over as a maiden and picked up Rovman Powell’s wicket in that. West Indies, you didn’t bat well. This was a pitch on which 200 should have been scored easily. Your batting was extremely ordinary, and you reached 170,” he said.

“You left a lot on the pitch. Hope scored a fifty and another fifty by Sherfane Rutherford, but what happened in the middle was avoidable. Mayank Yadav was slightly expensive. It felt like he was slightly rusty, as he is returning from injury and hasn’t played a lot of cricket,” he concluded.