Sanju Samson’s former teammate Yuzvendra Chahal has said that India should consider replacing the opening batsman with in-form Ishan Kishan, especially when Samson could not make it to even a single game after playing 4 matches.
India are gearing up for their title defense at the ICC T20 World Cup and are focused on winning their remaining preparation matches. Since the last World Cup in 2024, India have been an unbeaten team in the shortest format of the game.
However, the drama over the opening pair has continued ever since Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the format. India have had to fight for a starting spot and have tried to include Shubman Gill as well as Sanju Samson in the starting spot.
Yuzvendra Chahal spoke on Sanju Samson’s failure, said- I can accept failure in one or two matches, but not in three or four.
India tried Shubman Gill at the top of the Indian batting order, but the veteran star could not score more than 291 runs in 15 innings and batted at a very poor average. He was also made 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 also included in the playing eleven for the New Zealand series and the World Cup. Samson, who came into the team as an opening batsman, scored only 40 runs at an average of 10 in the series.
After four consecutive failures and the last failure costing India the game, Samson’s former Rajasthan Royals teammate, Yuzvendra Chahal has revealed that he should not be given any further chances, as so many failures cannot be taken into consideration.
“Sanju Samson has played for many years. He started in the middle-order in the IPL, then became an opening batsman. After playing international cricket for 10-12 years, pressure should not be an excuse. He has got 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 chances, but he could not capitalize on them,” Yuzvendra Chahal said on Geo Star.
‘Ishan Kishan should replace Sanju Samson as an opening batsman’- Yuzvendra Chahal
Out-of-favour Indian spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has said that Ishan Kishan has already been brought into the mix-up and the way he has performed, Ishan Kishan is more than worthy of taking his place.
“He knows someone like Ishan Kishan, who is the backup and is batting well at number three,” Chahal said in his conversation.
Yuzvendra Chahal said, “However, there is no need to feel too bad as the T20 World Cup is still far away. There is one more match against New Zealand. It now depends on the thinking of the team management. If they feel that Sanju is struggling as an opener and Ishan is doing well at number three, then the right decision would be to sit Sanju out and replace him in the final T20 match with Ishan Kishan as an opener and wicketkeeper.” Go.”
What will be India’s probable XI if Sanju Samson is selected for the T20 World Cup?
If Gautam Gambhir is considering taking over from Sanju Samson for the ICC T20 World Cup, then Ishan Kishan is ideal to take his place in the opening partnership with Abhishek Sharma. This will help India make way for Tilak Verma when he returns to the Indian system.
The rest of the Indian playing XI remain intact, while Axar Patel will return as the vice-captain of the team. However, Washington Sundar’s involvement is still under scrutiny, as Riyan Parag has been identified as a possible backup.
Also read: Tilak Verma will rejoin the Indian team after approval; Washington Sundar’s fitness is under question!