Sanju Samson’s former teammate, Yuzvendra Chahal, has opined that India should be considering replacing the opener with in-form Ishan Kishan, especially after Samson could not make it count even in one game after having played 4 matches.
India are gearing up for the title defence in the ICC T20 World Cup and are focused on winning the remainder of their preparatory games. Ever since the last World Cup in 2024, India have been an invincible side in the shortest format of the game.
However, the opening pair drama has continued ever since Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the format. India have struggled with the opening spot, and Shubman Gill as well as Sanju Samson have been tried to be slotted in the opening spot.
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“I can accept failure in one or two matches, but not in three or four,” said Yuzvendra Chahal on Sanju Samson’s failures
India tried Shubman Gill at the top of the Indian batting order, but the seasoned star could not manage more than 291 runs in 15 innings and batted with an awful average. He was also named the vice-captain of the Indian team, but failed to perform with dominance.
Sanju Samson, who has always been in Gautam Gambhir’s books as a backup, was included in the playing XI for the New Zealand series and the World Cup as well. Samson, who came into the side as an opener, scored just 40 runs at an average of 10 in the series.
After four back-to-back failures and the last failure causing India to lose the game, Samson’s former Rajasthan Royals teammate, Yuzvendra Chahal, has revealed that he should not be handed any further chances, as these many failures cannot be considered.
“Sanju Samson has played for many years. He started in the IPL middle-order, then became an opener. After playing international cricket for 10-12 years, pressure shouldn’t be an excuse. He has had four chances in this series. I can accept failure in one or two matches, but not in three or four. Sanju will blame himself. He had four opportunities but could not make them count,” Yuzvendra Chahal said on Jio Star
‘Ishan Kishan should take Sanju Samson’s spot as an opener’ – Yuzvendra Chahal
The out-of-favour Indian spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has opined that Ishan Kishan has already been brought up in the mix-up, and the way he has performed, Ishan Kishan is more than deserving to take his spot.
“He knows someone like Ishan Kishan, who is the backup and is batting well at number three, is waiting,” Chahal added to his conversation.
“However, there’s no need to feel too bad because the T20 World Cup is still far. There’s one more match against New Zealand. It now depends on the team management’s thinking. If they feel Sanju is struggling as an opener and Ishan is doing well at number three, then the right call would be to make Sanju sit out and let Ishan Kishan take his spot as the opener and wicketkeeper in the final T20I,” Yuzvendra Chahal added.
What will be India’s likely XI if Sanju Samson is benched for the T20 World Cup?
If Gautam Gambhir considers moving on from Sanju Samson for the ICC T20 World Cup, then Ishan Kishan is ideal to take up his spot in the opening partnership alongside Abhishek Sharma. This would help India make way for Tilak Varma when he returns to the Indian setup.
The rest of the Indian playing XI remains intact, while Axar Patel will return as the vice-captain of the side. However, Washington Sundar’s participation is still under scrutiny, as Riyan Parag has been identified as a likely backup.
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