Naman Dhir makes India debut in first ODI against West Indies

Naman Dhir received his maiden India cap from captain Shubman Gill before the toss in the first ODI against West Indies at Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. The 26-year-old Mumbai Indians all-rounder was named in the squad after scoring 655 runs at a strike rate of 217.61 in the Sher-e-Punjab T20 tournament, including a 173 off 64 balls.

Dhir said he initially dismissed a congratulatory message as spam and needed ten minutes to process the selection. He recalled a six-year gap between age-group and senior cricket before returning through the Ranji Trophy and IPL. India handed debuts to Dhir and Gurnoor Brar for the match.

Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to bowl first. India fielded three all-rounders in Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Naman Dhir, with Kuldeep Yadav replacing Mohammed Siraj from the previous squad.