"Put him into the pool and let him swim" - Former India all-rounders' blunt take on team combination after AUS vs IND 2025 1st ODI

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan presented a blunt take on the team's combination after the defeat against Australia. The Men in Blue suffered a seven-wicket loss in the opening ODI of the three-match series on Sunday, October 19, in Perth.

India left Kuldeep Yadav out of the playing XI. Irfan Pathan reckoned that they had to find a way of playing the wrist-spinner. He reckoned that Nitish Kumar Reddy could bowl more overs and play the role of a third seamer. That would open up a spot for Kuldeep. While he admitted that it was not easy to manage the team, he stressed that a bowler like Kuldeep could attack Australia's middle order.

"Can Kuldeep Yadav fit into the XI? How can you make a place for him? Either Nitish gives you seven to eight overs, so that he can play as the third pacer, increase the batting, and you can play Kuldeep as well. But what is the Indian team doing? You want batting till eight. It is not easy to run the team and I understand. But Kuldeep is such a bowler who can get the better of this Australian batting whose middle order is vulnerable," he said on his YouTube channel.

Kuldeep has often found himself out of the team since the focus on batting depth has increased. Reflecting on another option, Irfan stated that visitors should allow Harshit Rana to bat at eight if they believed he could tonk the ball and add to the batting. He added that they could then play Kuldeep in place of Washington Sundar. The former all-rounder called for the need to take some risk.

"India can take some risk. If you think Harshit has the potential to be the bowler who can bat at eight, then put him into the pool and let him swim. If you can make him bat there you can get three pacers and play Kuldeep in place of Washington. So either Nitish becomes your third pacer or play Kuldeep in place of Sundar. You need to compromise on batting depth a bit."

Defending a low total of 131 in 26 overs, the visitors lacked an attacking option with the ball.

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Irfan Pathan reflects on Indian bowlers' performance in first ODI

In the same video, Irfan Pathan also reflected on India's bowling performance. He reckoned that it was important to hit accurate lengths Down Under. The former all-rounder highlighted the difference in lengths while bowling at home and in Australia.

He added that bowlers also needed practice matches to adjust to the conditions. The Indian bowlers were unable to put up a fight. Australia were set a revised target of 131 runs in 26 overs. They scaled it down comfortably in 21.1 overs.

"As bowlers you need to get the right length in Australia. The difference of even a meter in length while bowling in India and Australia is huge. The bowlers also need to adjust and play practice games. They were unable to find the right lengths," he said.

The visitors' bowlers will have to bowl in the right areas in the upcoming games. Being 0-1 down in a three-match series, the pressure will be more. While Axar Patel was economical with figures of 1/19 from four overs, all the other bowlers had an economy of five and above.