Published: October 18, 2026 at 12:36 pm
India and the West Indies shared the trophy as the T20 series ended 2-2 after rain washed out the Bengaluru decider with just 7.4 overs of play being possible.
Speaking on JioStar’s ‘Haier Cricket Live’, Sunil Gavaskar, Abhishek Nayar, Cheteshwar Pujara and Aakash Chopra shared their thoughts on the key takeaways for Team India, Naman Dhir’s batting and concerns surrounding India’s spin combination.
Abhishek Nayar explained why 2-2 was the best result for the five-match T20I series. “Just looking at how this series has panned out, I feel it deserves to be 2-2 in a lot of ways because both teams played really good cricket. It would have been really unfortunate for the series to come down to a nine-over game to decide which team actually takes that cup away. It is fair to say that both teams have played the best cricket they could, and to end this series 2-2 is a statement of how well both teams have played and how tough a series it has been for Team India at home,” Nayar said.
“The West Indies should be proud because when they came in, it felt like India would easily beat them. While India would have fancied their chances with seven overs, I think it was a perfect end to a good series,” he added.
Pujara praises Naman Dhir
Cheteshwar Pujara heaped praise on Naman Dhir for his unbeaten six-ball 24-run cameo. He said: “It’s the ease he’s batting with. You face only six deliveries, and there were just two singles. All the other deliveries went for fours and sixes. He’s batting at a strike rate of 400 in a game that is limited to nine overs. So, to walk in and start hitting each and every ball for a four or a six, that needs a lot of preparation. When you look at him batting, you might think, ‘Oh, he’s making batting look so easy,’ but it’s not that easy. When you’re batting in that position, you have no time to think. So, to have faced just five or six deliveries and to have reached a score of 24, I think that is phenomenal.”
On India’s spin combination in T20Is going forward, Pujara said: “You will have to identify players and continue backing them. If the boundary size is small, Kuldeep may not play every game. So, you also need to give the players clarity that they will continue to be part of the Indian team. They may or may not be part of the playing XI regularly, but they are there in the larger setup. That is the message that needs to be communicated to the spinners especially because they can lose confidence pretty quickly in a shorter format.
“If you concede 40 to 50 runs in your four-over spell, you start to lose confidence, and that has happened with Kuldeep in the past. So, after Varun, it’s important to identify your spinners, whether it’s Kuldeep or Ravi Bishnoi. Bishnoi hasn’t been bowling really well, so we might have to look at another option. It’s important to identify whom you want to see in the team over the next couple of years and try to give them enough opportunities,” he added.
Hardik is irreplaceable, says Sunny
Legendary bat Sunil Gavaskar discussed key takeaways for Team India from the series.
“We didn’t get to see the bowling. It would have been interesting to see how the Indians bowled in this nine-over game. The takeaway from the series is that, in their bowling, they have to play with at least four regular bowlers. A fifth bowler and a sixth can be your all-rounders, somebody who can bat as well. Somebody like a Naman Dhir, who’s more of a batter but who can come in and bowl two or three overs. Axar Patel, who can bowl his four overs.
“We sometimes get a little bit carried away with trying to find a replacement for Hardik Pandya. Hardik Pandya is irreplaceable. If you can’t find somebody of his calibre, then go with somebody who will do a slightly different job. Naman Dhir is doing that job. He’s bowling his overs well, and look at the way he batted in this game. So, I think that is what India need to do because the moment you go with batting up to number eight, you weaken your bowling, and that’s where you get beaten.”
It’s another reality for Abhishek: Chopra
Aakash Chopra reflected on Abhishek Sharma’s run in the series. “In the last game, when he didn’t get much strike, he looked a bit scratchy. He didn’t get any rhythm at all, and let’s discount whatever happened in this game. So, he was a bit below par by his standards in the series, but that is also going to happen. That is another reality of the brand of cricket you play.
“You will always find that there might be a series, like the one against Afghanistan recently, where he scored a hundred in one game and a 70 in another, but then there will be another series where he would have a soft dismissal in one game, then another soft dismissal, play one good innings, and then get dismissed by a good delivery in another. These things are going to happen. Anyone who plays at a strike rate of 200 is bound to have a few games like these. That he will keep getting runs consistently, that is our misconception.”
