IND vs SA 2022: "Surprised he didn't get a second chance" - Wasim Jaffer "sad" for Ravi Bishnoi

Former India opener Wasim Jaffer was "sad" and "surprised" that leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi was dropped after just one game in the ODI series against South Africa.

Bishnoi, who has slowly made headway into India's T20I team, made his ODI debut in the first match of the rubber in Lucknow. He got Quinton de Kock out but conceded the highest economy rate among Indian bowlers - 8.60 in eight overs.

He was dropped for the next match as India included two spin all-rounders in Washington Sundar and Shahbaz Ahmed, who impressed.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Jaffer said:

"It was a brilliant series from Kuldeep Yadav, as expected. I expected from Bishnoi too but he was dropped after the first game itself. So I am a bit sad for him because he only got one opportunity and he was dropped.

"I wanted him to play and do well here because perhaps I wanted to see him in the T20 World Cup but he disappointed in the first match. I am surprised he didn't get a second chance."

Bishnoi didn't make it to India's main T20 World Cup squad but is in the reserves and could be called up if one of Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, and Ravichandran Ashwin gets injured.

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Shikhar Dhawan's laidback character helps the team: Wasim Jaffer

Apart from the selection issue, Jaffer found stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan's captaincy up to the mark.

He said Dhawan's laidback character creates a cordial environment in the team where all players can easily voice their opinions. He explained:

"He was impressive, no doubt about that. He is very experienced, we know he's been playing for a long time, has played under a lot of good captains and has himself led the team before. Whenever he led before this series, he did an excellent job.

"He's a very relaxed and laidback character, whether it's in his batting or fielding. And that helps the team because both youngsters and seniors, if they are friendly with the captain, they can share things. Shikhar Dhawan was top-notch as a captain."

Although his captaincy was top-notch, Dhawan struggled with the bat in the series, scoring just 25 runs in three matches. With the 2023 ODI World Cup coming up and competition for places increasing, he'll want to level up his game soon.

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