IND vs NZ | Venkatesh Iyer has won Rohit Sharma’s confidence in the bowling unit, says Robin Uthappa

India registered a thumping 73-run victory against New Zealand in the third T20I on Sunday in Kolkata, and swept the three-match series 3-0. The white-ball series against New Zealand was the first assignment for Rahul Dravid as Team India head coach, whereas Rohit Sharma also started his captaincy stint for the Men in Blue in the shortest format.

Venkatesh Iyer and Harshal Patel, who earned their maiden international call-up after their exuberant IPL 2021 performances, played a crucial role in India’s victories in the series. Iyer, who was selected to the squad as a batting all-rounder did not get a chance to bowl a single over in the T20I matches in Jaipur and Ranchi. However, the 26-year-old was assigned to bowl in the third T20I, and he scalped his maiden wicket by conceding just 12 runs in three overs.

Meanwhile, Robin Uthappa has stated that the way Venkatesh Iyer has earned the confidence of Rohit Sharma with his brilliant bowling performance in the final fixture of the T20I series against New Zealand. 

“The way Venkatesh Iyer bowled will give Rohit a lot more confidence to throw the ball to him in different situations in the future. I think it was a matter of Venkatesh Iyer earning Rohit’s respect as far as his bowling was concerned. With the way he bowled today, he actually did that,” Uthappa told ESPNcricinfo

Earlier, after the second T20I, Uthappa had stated that he was surprised with Rohit Sharma’s decision of not bowling Venkatesh Iyer in the first two games. However, the Indian cricketer was pleased with Iyer’s bowling performance in the third T20I, and stated that it remains to be seen whether the all-rounder would play a similar role in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.

“They have to reevaluate and (find out) if Venkatesh Iyer’s bowling is good enough in a place like Australia. They started that path today by actually giving him a bowl to see what he can do. Whether his all-round prowess can fit into the team moving forward towards that World Cup (remains to be seen)," added Uthappa.