Mumbai Indians (MI) star Naman Dhir is all set to make his international debut for India in the first ODI against the West Indies. The game will be played at the Greenfield International Stadium, Trivandrum, on Sunday, September 27.
Ahead of the series opener, the 26-year-old received his maiden India cap from skipper Shubman Gill. Naman Dhir appeared excited for his maiden outing for the Men in Blue, as he was all smiles while receiving his maiden cap.
The MI star recently impressed with his swashbuckling knock in the Sher-E-Punjab T20 League 2026, where he smashed 173 runs off just 64 balls. He was handed his debut cap in the team huddle. Dhir wore his cap amid applause from teammates and also posed with it.
Below are the pictures from the moment –
In the absence of Hardik Pandya, Naman Dhir, who bowls part-time right-arm off-spin, can come in handy as an extra bowling option alongside all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy. In 14 List A games so far, he has scored 351 runs from 11 innings at an average of 39.00 with four half-centuries. He also has seven wickets from eight innings with the ball.
In the IPL, he has played 37 games, scoring 710 runs at an average of 27.30 and a strike rate of 163.97 with three half-centuries.
India won the toss and opted to bowl first
In the opening ODI of the three-match series, the hosts won the toss and opted to bowl first. Captain Shubman Gill reckoned that it was a decent surface that would get better to bat under lights later on, which is why they opted to chase.
The Men in Blue are playing with three bowlers, two all-rounders and six batters, including debutant Naman Dhir.
India playing XI for the first ODI against West Indies: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (C), Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (WK), Naman Dhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Gurnoor Brar, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.
The second game will be played on Wednesday, September 30, in Guwahati, followed by the third ODI on Saturday, October 3, in New Chandigarh. After the three-match one-day series, the two teams will contest a five-match T20I series.
Edited by Rishab Vm