Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has added that Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan are competing for the opener’s spot in Team India’s preferred playing XI for the 2026 T20 World Cup. He also hopes that both of them are among the runs in the second T20I against New Zealand as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “Is there anything to correct? I still feel Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan. Ideally, this conversation shouldn’t have happened, and it wouldn’t have happened either had Sanju Samson been playing continuously and scoring runs. One wouldn’t have sat with a magnifying glass. However, since fortune is with Ishan Kishan at the moment and the way things have changed, if Sanju Samson scores runs, it’s great, but if he doesn’t and Ishan scores runs, it will be a point of discussion whether Ishan can be played in place of Sanju Samson. So, I just hope that both score runs.”

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However, Aakash Chopra also shared that Suryakumar Yadav plays a key knock in the second T20I against New Zealand as well.

“You want a few more runs from Suryakumar Yadav because form can truly be judged only if he scores 50, 60, 70, or 100 runs. If those runs aren’t scored, then that is a problem with bad form, if you have not spent enough time on the pitch. That happened with Rohit Sharma in Adelaide. He stood there and played a lot of balls. It happened with Virat Kohli in Sydney. He stood there and once someone plays a lot of balls, he comes in form. However, if you get out for 30-odd after playing 20-odd balls, then if you have two innings with low scores, you are back to square one. That’s why it’s necessary for him to score runs,” Aakash Chopra concluded.