For the second ODI against the West Indies, which is set for September 30 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, former cricket player Aakash Chopra has recommended that India think about benching Naman Dhir. Aakash Chopra is worried that Dhir’s part-time bowling would be unsuccessful due to the thick dew that usually forms at the location under the lights.
Aakash Chopra has recommended that India think about benching Naman Dhir
Due to the unavailability of front-line spin-bowling all-rounders Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, Dhir, 26, made his ODI debut in the series opener in Thiruvananthapuram. In order to increase their batting depth, India chose him over a specialist bowling option like Auqib Nabi or Mohammed Siraj. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ravindra Jadeja were also included in the playing XI.
As the sixth bowling option in the first ODI, Dhir bowled five overs while giving up 33 runs without taking a wicket. With eight wickets remaining, India successfully completed the run chase, denying him the chance to bat.
Aakash Chopra contended that it is hard to defend a part-time bowler in the starting lineup at Barsapara due to the dew issue. He emphasised that Dhir’s ability to contribute with the ball will be severely limited by a wet ball, and that the outcome of the toss is unpredictable. Chopra added that Dhir’s participation in Guwahati is further undermined by the fact that he is not now regarded as a long-term possibility for the ODI World Cup 2027.
Naman Dhir is a talented batsman, but he is still only a part-time bowler, so I have nothing against him. He is not a bowler who can take wickets, and he is not a bowler at all when the ball is wet. You should use your full-fledged bowlers in such a situation. Batting depth should not be a problem because form is not a problem. Even though Naman Dhir is an excellent player, you shouldn’t consider him for the ODI World Cup 2027 or the following match because of dew, Aakash Chopra stated on his YouTube channel.
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Siraj’s most recent ODI match was against New Zealand in January 2026. Due to workload management, he was pulled from the ODI series in England, and in recent red-ball matches against East Zone and Sri Lanka, he displayed signs of exhaustion.
Despite this, he was included in the West Indies series squad with the inclusion of Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh in the Asian Games 2026 campaign. Siraj, who was left out of the Champions Trophy 2025 roster, has only played in six of the 25 ODIs that India has played since the beginning of 2025 and has progressively shifted toward red-ball cricket.
In white-ball cricket, the Barsapara Cricket Stadium has a noteworthy chasing record. Teams batting second have won eight of the 15 white-ball matches that have been played at the stadium, including ODIs, T20Is, and IPL matches. India successfully chased down a target of 323 runs in their most recent match against the West Indies, which was also the stadium’s inaugural ODI.
In order to counteract the dew advantage that West Indies would have when chasing under lights, Chopra said that if India loses the toss and is asked to bat first, they will need to score a very high total. If things work out well for them, he saw this as a big opportunity for the guests.
Let’s be fair, India can still win the game even if they lose the toss, but they will need to score 350 to do it. After scoring 350 runs, use the wet ball for defence. It won’t happen if your score is lower than that. The West Indies have a fantastic opportunity here. They will not win the match if they lose the toss. However, they have a strong opportunity if they win the toss and there’s a lot of dew,” he said.
