An Oddsworth Opinion
Dhir and the gap Bumrah has left in India's T20 puzzle
The story
The Hindu asks whether Dhir, a young all-rounder on the rise, could complete India's T20 side. Its argument is that India's bowling has looked ordinary while their pace spearhead Bumrah has been out, so a player who adds overs as well as runs could plug the gap.
The Hindu · 19 October at 04:05 BSTIs fast-rising all-rounder Dhir the missing piece in India’s T20 puzzle?Read the full storyThe Hindu wonders whether Dhir is the piece India have been missing while Bumrah is away, and the West Indies series backs the worry behind the question. At the JSCA International Stadium Complex, India made 249/5 and still lost, because West Indies got there in 18.3 overs.
Five days later, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, West Indies made 247/3 and won again. India went into all five matches as clear favourites in our forecasts, and the series ended two wins each with one no result.
Our ratings still have India first of the ten men's T20 sides, 40 runs a match better than an average team. That edge comes from the batting, and the gap is in the bowling.
- WAfghanistanWon by 7 wickets v Afghanistan, 2026-09-15
- WAfghanistanWon by 127 runs v Afghanistan, 2026-09-17
- WJapanWon by 2 runs v Japan, 2026-09-22
- WSri LankaWon by 124 runs v Sri Lanka, 2026-10-01
- WPakistanWon by 19 runs v Pakistan, 2026-10-03
- WWest IndiesWon by 8 wickets v West Indies, 2026-10-06
- LWest IndiesLost by 6 wickets v West Indies, 2026-10-09
- WWest IndiesWon by 14 runs v West Indies, 2026-10-11
- LWest IndiesLost by 24 runs v West Indies, 2026-10-14
- NRWest IndiesNo result v West Indies, 2026-10-17
Can a batting all-rounder fix a bowling problem?
Only if he bowls, and Nishant Sindhu's last two years are a fair warning of how quickly an all-rounder's overs can disappear. In October 2023 he took 2/11 from two overs for Haryana against Chhattisgarh.
He has played eight T20s in the past two years and hasn't bowled a single ball in any of them.
His batting hasn't made up for it. Across all men's T20 cricket in those two years he averaged 12.6, against an average of 23.5 for top-seven batters. Gujarat Titans had a hitter who rarely got going, and he didn't bat at all in three of his last eight matches for them.
Career average 21.4Not out
What India need from Dhir in New Zealand
Our ratings make India 70% favourites for the first T20I against New Zealand on Thursday, and that confidence rests on the runs they can make. A sixth batter who bowls the odd over adds to the strongest part of the side and leaves the weakest part as it was.
Across men's T20 cricket the average economy rate is 8.01, and India need someone who can bowl four overs at about that rate when West Indies-sized totals come along.
That place should go to a bowler who can do that job. Until Dhir shows he can bowl those four overs, India should treat him as a batter and look elsewhere for the missing piece.
Thursday 22 October 2026, 8:00pm NZDT