Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (left) and Sanju Samson.© AFP
The Indian cricket team has been playing musical chairs with its opening combination in the T20I format for quite a long time now. Earlier, the duo of Shubman Gill and Sanju Samson fought for the spot, with Abhishek Sharma having already cemented his place. Later, Ishan Kishan presented his case for the same position before being pushed down to number three. Then came Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, and once again, Samson had to make way for the teenager in the playing XI. After the wonderkid failed to start his international career on a promising note, Samson got one more game, replacing him before being dropped from the squad.
On the other hand, Sooryavanshi returned with scores of 14, 13 and 15 in his debut series against England, but bounced back brilliantly with a Player of the Series performance against Zimbabwe. The teenager scored 151 runs in three games and also bagged the Player of the Match award in the final contest.
Former India batter Ajinkya Rahane has opined that the team should stick with Samson and that Sooryavanshi will get his chance in the future.
“I feel the top three should be the same that played in the World Cup. Samson has done well, but he got dropped after two or three bad innings. I want him to get another chance. Abhishek and Ishan also did well for us. Vaibhav will get his opportunities, and his time will come. But for now, I feel the top three should be Samson, Abhishek, and Ishan, who were our contributors in the World Cup,” Rahane said on his YouTube channel.
India recalled Samson for the upcoming Afghanistan series, and that has pleased Rahane. He reminded everyone that Samson was the Player of the Series in India’s T20 World Cup title victory earlier this year.
“I am happy to see Sanju Samson back in the team. He was the ‘Man of the Series’ in the World Cup. It has been up and down, and things were happening to him that were not in his control. But he is a match-winner, and his return strengthens the team,” the former India batter concluded.
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