‘Naman Dhir finished him’: World Cup winner’s big statement on T20I star’s future

Naman Dhir made a big statement on his T20I debut against the West Indies and his performance has already led to questions over Washington Sundar’s place in India’s white-ball squads.Primarily seen as a batting all-rounder in the IPL, the 25-year-old surprised many with the ball in the first T20I. As India restricted the West Indies to 171, he threw his full spell in four overs and returned figures of 3/31.Dhir scored 318 runs in IPL 2026 but did not lose a single run during the tournament. His international debut showed that he can offer India another option with the ball.Former Indian cricketer and 1983 World Cup winner Krishnamachari Srikkanth believes that Dhir’s entry could seriously damage Washington Sundar’s chances in white-ball cricket.

Srikkanth: “Naman Dhir finished him off”

Srikkanth pointed out that Dhir initially came into the team as a replacement but now it is difficult for the selectors to leave him out.“Naman Dhir now came in place of Washington Sundar as a substitute player. Washington Sundar keeps getting injured after every two matches. Now Naman Dhir came in as his substitute and ended him. How can you take Naman Dhir out of ODIs and T20Is now? He filled the place immediately. Washington Sundar can only play for India in Test cricket now,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.Srikkanth was also impressed with how Dhir adjusted his bowling after being hit.“When he bowls fast, he gets sixes. So he immediately slows the ball down, which shows he’s a very thinking bowler. He’s perfect for T20 cricket. He bowls by imagining how he’s batting and how someone would come at him. That’s how he looks like a thinking cricketer. That’s why he’s an intelligent player.”

Why Srikkanth wants to remove the Impact Player rule

Dhir’s performance also made Srikkanth question the impact of the IPL Impact Player rule.“That’s why the Impact Player rule should be removed from the IPL. That’s how you produce real all-rounders. Now you have a good batting all-rounder in Naman Dhiru. He bowled four overs today, but even if he gives you two overs on a consistent basis, it will be huge for India and MI,” Srikkanth said.Srikkanth expects Dhir to get more opportunities with the ball in the IPL as well.“He will take a lot of wickets in the upcoming IPL as well. In his IPL career, he had to bowl a maximum of 10 overs, but today he bowled four overs. He has everything, including luck.”

Dhir says bowling has always been a part of his game

However, Dhir made it clear that his bowling is not something he suddenly picked up for his international debut.“I’ve been bowling for a while now; it’s not like I just started. You don’t see me bowling that much in the IPL because of the impact player rule. But it’s not like I’m not bowling. I’ve bowled a lot and I’ve got good experience here as well. Hopefully I’ll do well in the future,” Dhir said at India’s West T12 post-match auxiliary press conference. here.He explained that he followed a simple plan after seeing Axar Patel miss earlier in the innings.“I saw Axar Bhai bowling earlier and he bowled a bit slower and swung a bit. That was in my mind – if I bowled a bit slower, there would be good grip from the wicket and I could get them out. So I just stuck to my plans and kept things basic. I think I got a good result from that,” said Dhir.

‘I’m still working hard on my bowling’

Dhir also emphasized that his bowling has always received as much attention as his batting.“Again, even if you haven’t seen me bowling, since I came here, I have been bowling the same as before and I have been practicing the same way before. It is not that I am neglecting one aspect as a batting all-rounder or a bowling all-rounder. Yes, my batting is a plus,” he said, but at the same time I am working on it just as hard.“Whether I have to bowl four overs, two overs or even one-day cricket where I have bowled six or seven overs, it’s normal for me. I just have to focus on my plans and try to execute them,” he added.Having won the three-match ODI series 2-1, India lead the five-match T20I series 1-0.The second T20I match is being played at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi on Friday.