I wish to see more of Deepak Hooda, because he has shown a lot of promise – Pragyan Ojha

Former Indian spinner Pragyan Ojha wants to see more of Deepak Hooda as the youngster has shown a lot of promise in the recent past. Hooda had a great run in the Tata IPL 2022 while playing for Lucknow Super Giants. The right-hander had scored 451 runs in 14 innings at an average of 32.21 and a strike rate of 136.66 in the tournament.

Hooda has been in good form and many experts believe he was unlucky to be dropped from the second T20I against England after Virat Kohli returned to the team. The right-hander had scored a fine hundred in the second T20I against Ireland as he had scored 104 runs off just 57 balls.

The 27-year-old from Rohtak had also scored 33 runs off just 17 balls in the first T20I against England. As a lot of main players are rested from the West Indies tour, Hooda is expected to get his chances and show what he can bring to the table. Furthermore, Hooda can also roll over his arm for off-spin.

Ojha said on Cricbuzz: “I wish to see more of Deepak Hooda, because he has shown a lot of promise. He has overcome a lot of hurdles in domestic cricket and made his place in the Indian team. I am curious to see how he performs”

Former left-arm orthodox spinner Ojha is also keen to observe to observe Suryakumar Yadav. SKY has been in prolific form as he scored 117 runs off just 55 balls in the second T20I against England but his effort went in vain. The right-hander has been performing consistently in the IPL in the last few years.

“Suryakumar Yadav is a little senior, but he is still making his place in the team, I want to see how these two players do in this series.”

Along with Deepak Hooda, Ojha wants players like Arshdeep Singh and Sanju Smason to get their chances in the series against the West Indies. Samson can hit the ground running while Singh had impressed in his T20I debut against England as he had scalped two wickets.

“Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda and Arshdeep Singh are the players I want to see being given an opportunity in the series. I have been impressed with Arshdeep’s bowling, not only skill, but also the temperament with which he bowls. He has bowled well in slog overs in high-pressure matches. It would be interesting to see what mark he leaves if he is given a match to play.”

India will play the first ODI against the West Indies on Friday.