India lost all three matches of the ODI series against South Africa a few days back . The KL Rahul-led side lost the opening ODI by 31 runs. In the 2nd ODI, SA chased down 288 while India lost the 3rd tie by 4 runs.
Following the series defeat against SA, former India opener Gautam Gambhir had made a bold claim about Venkatesh Iyer’s future in the ODI team. Venkatesh made his ODI debut against South Africa in the recently concluded series. However, the Kolkata Knight Riders player failed to capitalize on the opportunity. Iyer scored 2 off 7 in the opening ODI while he didn’t get a chance to bowl. In the 2nd ODI, he scored 22 off 33 and went for 28 runs in 5 overs. He was surprisingly kept out of the playing XI for the 3rd ODI.
Gambhir feels that Iyer doesn’t have the maturity level to play in ODIs yet and should only be considered for selection in T20Is. Speaking on Star Sports after the series, Gambhir said: “I feel he should only be considered for T20 cricket. Because he doesn’t have that level of maturity yet. He has been given an opportunity to play international level after watching him in only 7-8 IPL matches. If you are going by IPL performances, then play him in T20 cricket. ODI is a completely different ball game and a completely different beast “