Dodda Ganesh
Dodda Ganesh (Image- starsfact.com)

Former India and Karnataka player, Dodda Ganesh has expressed his surprise at watching Mayank Agarwal bowl in the second ODI in Sydney against Australia on Sunday.

Similar to the first ODI, the Australian batters hammered the Indian bowlers in Sydney. Openers, David Warner and Aaron Finch recorded a 142 run opening stand. After they both were dismissed, Steve Smith smashed his 11th ODI hundred- second in succession. Besides, half-centuries from Marnus Labuschagne and Glenn Maxwell catapulted the total to 389/4.

Four of India’s first-choice five bowlers leaked runs at more than seven per over. With no proper sixth bowling option, Virat Kohli was found searching for someone to bowl. Hence, opener Mayank Agarwal was summoned to deliver the 35th over of the Aussie innings.

Dodda Ganesh Shocked After Watching Mayank Agarwal Being Used As A Bowling Option Against Australia
India. (Credits: Twitter)

The question was not whether he could bowl or not, the question was how many runs he will concede- such was the state of the bowling and the Aussie batting. Agarwal started off well, giving just 2 runs in 4 balls. But, a part-timer is a part-timer. Steve Smith wouldn’t spare him, and he had no intention to. The right-hander slashed a couple of boundaries to finish Agarwal’s maiden over in international cricket.

Such was the desperation to have someone else bowl, Kohli called in Hardik Pandya the next over. Pandya hasn’t bowled in a long time, not even in the entire IPL due to his back injury. In order to put less strain on his back, Hardik has remodelled his action and bowled with slower speeds.

Read More  "Don't know what's going to happen" - Virat Kohli vs Gautam Gambhir clash worries ex-India pacer

He did really well to end with figures of 1/24 in 4 overs. Hardik was seen going back to the dressing room after completing his overs. Hopefully, he has not aggravated his injury.

Mayank Agarwal, Kings XI Punjab, Ravichandran Ashwin
Mayank Agarwal (Credit: Facebook)

I’ve hardly seen him bowling even in the nets: Dodda Ganesh

Dodda Ganesh took to Twitter saying that he has watched Agarwal play since his under-19 days for Karnataka. But the former Karnataka seamer has never seen Agarwal bowl, not even in the nets.

Dodda Ganesh, 47, termed it ‘crazy’ at the idea of having Mayank as the sixth bowling option. The Indian team has had the issue of lack of a sixth bowler for some time now. With Kedar Jadhav not in the team anymore, and Hardik Pandya not bowling, this issue has been conspicuous in the series against Australia.

Dodda Ganesh wrote on Twitter, “I’ve seen Mayank Agarwal since his Karnataka U-19 days. Trust me, the Karnataka think tank never considered Mayank as a bowling option. I’ve hardly seen him bowling even in the nets. And now he’s the sixth bowling option for India in the ODIs #Crazy #DoddaMathu #AUSvIND.” 

Also Read: Watch: Ball Slips Out Of Sheldon Cottrell’s Hands While Bowling Against New Zealand; Flies To Short Third Man Fielder

Read More  KKR Playing 11 vs RCB- IPL 2024, Match 10