{"id":800119,"date":"2026-10-12T11:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T11:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/800119\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T11:34:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T11:34:10","slug":"naman-dhir-reading-the-batters-mind-how-batting-all-rounder-naman-dhir-turned-his-bowling-into-a-weapon-for-india-cricket-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/800119\/","title":{"rendered":"Naman Dhir: \u2018Reading the batter\u2019s mind\u2019: How batting all-rounder Naman Dhir turned his bowling into a weapon for India | Cricket News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\u2018ReadingNaman Dhir celebrates after taking a wicket. (PTI Photo) NEW DELHI: India\u2019s Naman Dhir is making an impact with the ball despite being primarily a batting all-rounder, and the 26-year-old believes his ability to read a batter\u2019s intentions is helping him deliver crucial breakthroughs in T20Is.Dhir claimed two wickets (2\/39) in India\u2019s 14-run victory over the West Indies in the third T20I at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday, helping the hosts take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. The off-spinner dismissed Shimron Hetmyer<\/a> and Kamil Pooran during the visitors\u2019 chase of 224, adding to the three wickets (3\/31) he took on his T20I debut during the West Indies series.Explaining his approach, Dhir said his bowling relies on disciplined lines and lengths, variations in pace and an understanding of the batter\u2019s technique.\u201cAs an off-spinner, I don\u2019t have too many variations, so I have to rely on my line and length and vary my pace. That has always been my thinking. As they say that in T20 cricket, an attacking option can also be a defensive option because there is nothing better than taking a wicket,\u201d Dhir told JioStar.\u201cIt helps being a batter because you understand the batter\u2019s stance, where his backlift is coming from, his guard and the kind of shots he can play. I keep observing these things when I bowl,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u2018He was looking to play every shot towards the leg side\u2019<\/p>\n

Dhir offered an insight into how he planned the dismissal of Pooran, explaining that he had identified the batter\u2019s preferred scoring areas and wanted to restrict his room to play freely.\u201cI didn\u2019t plan to concede three sixes and then take a wicket. For instance, when Kamil Pooran was batting, he was looking to play every shot towards the leg side and get room to free his arms, so I wanted to cramp him for room,\u201d he said.\u201cI made a couple of errors in the first two deliveries. I knew I was bowling my third over, the batter was set, and with the run rate being high, he was bound to take a chance. And, ultimately, he got out playing exactly the kind of shot I wanted him to, getting caught at square-leg.\u201d\u201cSo, these little things help me a lot, and as a bowler, I keep looking for such small details,\u201d Dhir added.<\/p>\n

Batting remains Dhir\u2019s primary role<\/p>\n

Despite his growing contributions with the ball, Dhir made it clear that batting remains his primary responsibility in the Indian setup. He said the team management expects him to provide flexibility in the lower middle order while delivering two or three overs when required.\u201cI am a batting all-rounder. I got an opportunity to bat in this game, but I am a bit disappointed that I couldn\u2019t capitalise on it,\u201d he said.Dhir added that the Impact Player rule in the IPL had reduced his bowling opportunities, but stressed that bowling had always been part of his game.\u201cWith the ball, my responsibility is to bowl two or three overs economically whenever the team needs me,\u201d he said.The all-rounder is not looking too far ahead despite his promising start to international cricket.\u201cI don\u2019t function that way, by looking too far ahead. I don\u2019t have any specific goals as of now. I\u2019m just playing my cricket, enjoying it, and wherever God takes me, I\u2019ll go,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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Share Opinion<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Naman Dhir celebrates after taking a wicket. (PTI Photo) NEW DELHI: India\u2019s Naman Dhir is making an impact…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":800120,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[1721,35048,6535,12935,263061,263062,108947,34936,101,227736,56,54,55,1620],"class_list":["post-800119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-cricket","tag-impact-player-rule","tag-india-cricket","tag-indian-cricket-team","tag-kamil-pooran","tag-lower-middle-order-batting","tag-naman-dhir","tag-shimron-hetmyer","tag-sports","tag-t20i-performance","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-west-indies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=800119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/800120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=800119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=800119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=800119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}