SA vs IND 1st ODI: Shikhar Dhawan explains why Venkatesh Iyer did not bowl

South Africa triumphed over India in the first ODI match of the series and won the game by 31 runs. During the post-match press conference of SA vs IND 1st ODI, the Indian batter Shikhar Dhawan explained the reason behind India's defeat.

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Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, and Shardul Thakur scored 3 half-centuries in the SA vs IND 1st ODI. Still, this was not enough for the Indian cricket team to chase down 297 runs. India completed their innings on 265/8 in 50 overs and lost the 1st match by a huge margin.

One of the most talked-about points from the conference was why Venkatesh Iyer was not taken as a bowling option. Dhawan said that India did not require Venkatesh to bowl as the spinners were playing well and there was turn on the wicket. He also added that the team also went to their main bowlers when the bowlers were unable to pick up the wickets of the Proteas. The Southpaw said that they turned to the spinners towards the end of the innings.

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We didn't need him because the spinners did well: Shikhar Dhawan

Dhawan said, "We didn't need him because the spinners did well and there was some turn in the wicket. Fast bowlers were mostly used at the end. In the middle-overs when the wicket was not falling, our thinking was to bring back the main bowlers to get the breakthrough but we couldn't do that. Then, in the end, it was important to bring our main bowlers, like our spinners."

Meanwhile, Gautam Gambhir and Aakash Chopra did not agree with the decision of not using Venkatesh as the 6th bowling option. Gautam said that Iyer should have got the opportunity to bowl at least 5-6 overs as he was added to the squad as an all-rounder. Aakash Chopra agreed with him and added, "It seems only you and I are looking at him that way."