Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra said that the opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma is more dangerous than the pair of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
During the rapid-fire round, Chora had to say right or wrong, and he spoke the truth in the statement that “Abhishek-Sanju opening pair is more dangerous than Rohit and Kohli pair in 2024.”
Chopra described the pairing of Sanju and Abhishek as better than Rohit and Virat.
Without wasting any time, Chopra said that the current opening pair for Team India in the T20I format is better than other combinations in 2024. The former cricketer had an explanation for his choice, but it might be enough to spark another debate.
Team India is currently in a winning streak before the ICC T20I World Cup. Abhishek Sharma has been in great form for the Men in Blue and smashed another half-century for the winning cause. In Guwahati, during the India vs New Zealand 3rd T20I, Sharma scored a fifty in 14 balls, which is now the second fastest fifty by any Indian cricketer in this format of international cricket.
Abhishek Sharma was the hero of the match
Abhishek Sharma was adjudged the player of the match for his match-winning innings of 68 runs in just 20 balls. The southpaw hit five fours and seven fours in his innings in his typical style.
New Zealand came out to bat first and scored 153/9 in 20 overs after losing three of their top-order batsmen early. Harshit Rana, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah wasted no time in causing damage to the opponents’ batting lineup. On the basis of Sharma’s innings, India achieved the target in only 10 overs and won the match by 8 wickets.
While Sharma is full of confidence, Sanju Samson is going through a bad phase. In the last three matches for India, the keeper-batsman has scored a total of 16 runs, including a golden duck last night in Guwahati. There is no doubt about the quality of player Samson is, but poor form ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 could become a headache for the Indian team management.
Why did Aakash Chopra put Samson and Sharma forward?
In this scenario, when Samson was struggling, Aakash Chopra said that the Sharma-Samson pair is better than the 2024 edition of the Kohli-Sharma combination.
Chopra said, “Yes, it’s true. Because both Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson are smashers. I love Ro-Co, but the pairing of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson is a different fun.”
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With the win in the third match, India have clinched the ongoing 5-match T20 series, leaving the remaining two matches almost over. In the remaining two matches, a different playing combination is expected to be seen under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav. Sanju’s poor form so far is the only low point for the team. Otherwise, the dominant batting of Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Yadav is making the batting lineup even stronger for the upcoming ICC event.
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