Team India's management decided to play Deepak Hooda in place of Axar Patel in their match against South Africa and this decision did not make much sense to former opener Gautam Gambhir. Hooda was handed a World Cup debut and Gambhir questioned the choice while stating that he was surprised by the choice.
"Ya, it was quite surprising for me. Why would you want to go with a batter when something is working for you? I know Axar has not bowled a lot, but he has bowled four overs in the previous game. India has gone with only 5 main bowlers and Hooda is your sixth bowler. Probably the reason could be that South Africa have a couple of left-handers in their ranks, that is the only reason I can think of," Gambhir said on Star Sports.
It was a move which did not pay off as Hooda was dismissed by Anrich Nortje for a duck having played just two balls. But the batting all-rounder has been exceptional since making his international debut for the Indian side. He already has a T20I century against Ireland and has shown a promising ability to play the anchor's role at a high strike rate. Gambhir questioned the decision and also argued that Deepak Hooda at number 7 is a waste and not a good choice from the Indian team considering the team could have played a lower-order specialist in his place.
"But where you are going to play him? Are you going to play him at number 7? He is not someone who can bat at number 7. It is good to have depth in your batting, there is nothing wrong with it, but it depends on who you are getting. If the batter is suited for the position, that also matters. And we will have to wait and watch how India fare with a less strong bowling line-up," Gambhir concluded.
