Irfan Pathan Spots India’s Missing ODI All-Rounder

India’s ODI squad for the West Indies series has been shaped as much by the calendar as by selection calls, with the Asian Games pulling several first-choice players away at the same time. In that shifting setup, one uncapped name has quickly stood out: Mumbai Indians batter Naman Dhir.

Pathan sees a role India have been missing

Irfan Pathan, speaking on JioHotstar’s Follow the Blues programme, said Dhir’s biggest appeal is not just his batting numbers, but the balance he brings as a potential all-round option. For Pathan, that makes the young cricketer relevant to a clear need in India’s white-ball structure.

“I really admire Naman Dhir; I think he is a great talent,” Pathan said. “More than his performances in domestic cricket, he has been selected for his ability to bowl. A batter who can bat lower down the order, can bat in the top order as well, and can bowl handy off-spin, I think a player of that type has been missing a little bit in the ODI setup.”

The comment highlights the kind of flexibility modern squads demand. India have often had specialist batters and specialist bowlers available, but the in-between profile — someone who can slot into multiple batting positions and provide overs in a pinch — has been harder to find consistently.

Numbers that forced the call-up

Dhir earned his maiden India call-up after a stunning run in the Sher-e-Punjab T20 League, where he finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer. His form there was too big to ignore, especially with a strike rate that underlined his ability to score quickly under pressure.

His List-A record is less eye-catching than his T20 output, but it still shows a player contributing in more than one discipline. For selectors, that combination can matter just as much as a headline average, especially when the squad needs depth rather than glamour.

Why the timing matters now

Pathan linked Dhir’s opportunity directly to the absences around him. Washington Sundar is unavailable because of the Asian Games, while Riyan Parag has been dealing with injury concerns. That opens a lane for a player like Dhir to be tested in a role India have struggled to lock down.

“If Naman gets his opportunity, I will be excited to see him,” Pathan said. “He has the skill, but more than his batting, his bowling will be tested.”

That line is important. It suggests the selectors are not simply looking for another hitter in the middle order. They are looking for a cricketer who can complete an XI, offer tactical flexibility, and reduce the pressure on the rest of the lineup.

A squad built around bench strength

This West Indies series has arrived in an unusual window for India. Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah and Washington Sundar are all tied up with the Asian Games, which creates natural gaps across the batting order, spin-bowling all-rounder role and pace attack. That has forced the management to look at its second string more closely.

Alongside Dhir, fellow uncapped player Auqib Nabi and returning spinner Ravindra Jadeja are among the names expected to carry added responsibility. In that sense, this series is less about chasing a full-strength result and more about testing who can genuinely handle international demands.

As one India support staff source reportedly described similar selection windows in the past, “the best time to discover depth is when the result pressure is manageable.” That logic fits this series neatly. A home assignment against the West Indies offers a controlled environment to judge whether Dhir can translate domestic promise into international value.

What India are really trying to find

For India, the real question is not whether Dhir can score quickly. His franchise and domestic numbers already suggest that he can. The bigger question is whether he can handle the bowling workload, stay calm in pressure overs and deliver enough balance to justify a place in a future ODI core.

That is why this call-up feels bigger than a simple reward for form. It is a trial for a specific role India have lacked in a recurring way: a batting all-rounder who can contribute with off-spin, adapt across the order and add depth without weakening the XI.

If Dhir shows even a fraction of the all-round utility Pathan believes he possesses, India may have found a useful bench option at exactly the right time. And if he does not, the team still walks away with clearer answers before a major tournament cycle starts to tighten.

For now, Dhir’s debut chance is about more than selection. It is about whether India can finally fill a void that has been visible for too long.