Cheteshwar Pujara praises Naman Dhir’s six-ball blitz, urges India to back spinners

Cheteshwar Pujara has praised Naman Dhir’s unbeaten 24 off six balls in India’s rain-hit T20I decider against the West Indies. He also urged team management to identify and consistently back spinners, including Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi.

New Delhi: Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara has praised Naman Dhir for his blistering unbeaten 24 off just six deliveries in India’s rain-hit T20I decider against the West Indies in Bengaluru, highlighting the preparation required to deliver such an impact in a high-pressure situation.

He also stressed the need for the team management to identify and consistently back its spin options for the coming years, naming Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi among the candidates to be considered alongside Varun Chakravarthy.

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Dhir’s late assault showcased his ability to make an immediate difference with minimal time at the crease. In a match reduced by rain, the Mumbai Indians batter’s six-ball effort offered a glimpse of the value of having a designated finisher capable of clearing the boundary from the outset. Pujara believes the ease with which Dhir found the ropes should not be mistaken for a lack of effort behind the performance.

“It’s the ease he’s batting with. You face only six deliveries, and there were just two singles. All the other deliveries went for fours and sixes. He’s batting at a strike rate of 400 in a game that is limited to nine overs. So, to walk in and start hitting each and every ball for a four or a six, that needs a lot of preparation.

“When you look at him batting, you might think, ‘Oh, he’s making batting look so easy,’ but it’s not that easy. When you’re batting in that position, you have no time to think. So, to have faced just five or six deliveries and to have reached a score of 24, I think that is phenomenal,” Pujara told JioStar.

Beyond the batting display, Pujara also addressed a longer-term selection question for Indian cricket: how to maintain a settled group of spinners despite the changing demands of T20 conditions. He pointed to factors such as ground dimensions and the pressure of conceding runs in a format where one expensive spell can quickly affect a bowler’s confidence.

“You will have to identify players and continue backing them. If the boundary size is small, Kuldeep may not play every game. So, you also need to give the players clarity that they will continue to be part of the Indian team. They may or may not be part of the playing XI regularly, but they are there in the larger setup. That is the message that needs to be communicated to the spinners especially because they can lose confidence pretty quickly in a shorter format.

“If you concede 40 to 50 runs in your four-over spell, you start to lose confidence, and that has happened with Kuldeep in the past. So, after Varun, it’s important to identify your spinners, whether it’s Kuldeep or Ravi Bishnoi. Bishnoi hasn’t been bowling really well, so we might have to look at another option. It’s important to identify whom you want to see in the team over the next couple of years and try to give them enough opportunities,” he added.