"I wish to see more of Deepak Hooda, because he has shown a lot of promise" - Pragyan Ojha on the player's performance he's looking forward to in the ODI series against West Indies
Former India spinner Pragyan Ojha expects to see Deepak Hooda being heavily involved in the upcoming three-match ODI series against the West Indies. The all-rounder recently became the fourth Indian player to record a T20I hundred and has been consistent with his displays at No.3 so far.
The 27-year-old made his ODI debut earlier this year against West Indies in Ahmedabad. After a couple of promising displays in the 3-0 series win, Hooda continued his fine run of form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 to earn a place in the Indian squad. He is currently in the scheme of things for the T20 World Cup, primarily because of his batting exploits.
Admitting that Hooda's displays in the Team India shirt have been "promising," Ojha said on Cricbuzz:
"I wish to see more of Deepak Hooda, because he has shown a lot of promise. He has overcome a lot of hurdles in domestic cricket and made his place in the Indian team. I am curious to see how he performs"
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Along with the spin all-rounder, the former bowler also named Suryakumar Yadav as the player to watch out for. The right-handed batter has been in tremendous form of late and has arguably cemented his place in the middle-order. Ojha added:
"Suryakumar Yadav is a little senior, but he is still making his place in the team, I want to see how these two players do in this series."
The Mumbai-born cricketer had an eventful tour of England and was instrumental in India's series win in white-ball formats. He amassed 215 runs across five innings, which includes his maiden T20I hundred as well.
"Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda and Arshdeep Singh are the players I want to see being given an opportunity in the series" - RP Singh
The Indian selection committee have named a second-string squad for the three-match ODI series against the West Indies. The side will be led by Shikhar Dhawan, with Ravindra Jadeja acting as the deputy.
A host of bench players have made their way into the squad and are on the lookout for opportunities to stake their claim in the first-team.
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Hoping to see more of Arshdeep Singh in the ODI series, former India pacer RP Singh said during the same interaction:
"Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda and Arshdeep Singh are the players I want to see being given an opportunity in the series. I have been impressed with Arshdeep's bowling, not only skill, but also the temperament with which he bowls. He has bowled well in slog overs in high-pressure matches. It would be interesting to see what mark he leaves if he is given a match to play."
The left-arm pacer was handed his maiden national call-up for the home series against South Africa. Failing to avail an opportunity in the series that ended 2-2, he was named in the squad for the first T20I and ODI series against England. The youngster made his T20I debut, but was on the bench for the rest of the tour.