Simon Doull questions why 'genuine batters' like Shreyas Iyer are not taking part-time bowling

New Delhi, Nov 21: Team India might have registered a convincing 65-run win over New Zealand in the second T20I at Bay Oval in Tauranga on Sunday (November 20) but former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull has raised his concern about the overall balance of this Indian side.

All-rounder Deepak Hooda emerged as the pick of the bowlers for India as the off-spinner returned with impressive figures of 4/10. Hooda - who was not given a single over in the just concluded T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia - had to bowl because stand-in captain Hardik Pandya had some niggle in his neck.

Doull - the former NZ pacer - highlighted the fact that India seriously lacks on the front of having extra bowling options during matches. Teams with more all-round options tend to do well in the shortest format of the game and England's recent victory in the T20 World Cup 2022 is a testimony to the same.

While speaking on the official broadcaster of the series, Prime Video, during the second T20I - he wondered why 'genuine batters' such as Shreyas Iyer are unable to contribute with the ball for India.

Raising the issue of Hardik's injury during the 2nd T20I, Doull said, "That has always been the problem. When Hardik was injured...what do we do next? I mean, Shardul did a great job in the Test series in Australia. These guys around will do. But I am talking about the genuine batters. Shreyas Iyer. Why is he not bowling a lot of off-spin? Not that there are any shortage of spinners in the Indian team to go and learn how to bowl off-spin. Why is he not doing it? That is my question about the situation. These young guys need to know what their future is."

After the game, Hardik even said that he expects batters to step up with the bowl going forward. "I have bowled a lot, going forward I want to see more bowling options. Not always that this will work but I want more batters to chip in with the ball," the acting skipper said during the post-match presentation.

Earlier, India had two-to-three extra bowling options in the late 2000s but the concept of batting all-rounders has taken a back seat in the country as batters are hardly developing bowling as their secondary skill. The likes of Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and even current India Head Coach Rahul Dravid used to roll their arms every now and then in the games and provided their skipper with some extra bowling options.