As India prepare for the second T20I against England at Old Trafford in Manchester on Saturday, July 4, former India opener Aakash Chopra has backed the team management to resist the temptation of making wholesale changes despite recent batting failures. With the opening match of the five-game series ending in a no-result due to persistent rain, Chopra believes India should largely stick with the combination that showed promise before the weather intervened.

The biggest talking point ahead of the Manchester clash remains the opening slot. Sanju Samson has endured a disappointing run in recent matches, scoring just six runs across three innings during the Ireland and England tours. His scores of 5, 0, and 1 have intensified calls for teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to finally make his international debut.

However, Aakash Chopra feels India should continue backing Samson for at least one more game. Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former batter pointed out that while Samson’s record overseas has been inconsistent, changing the combination now would not serve the team’s original plans.

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“A pattern is developing with Sanju. He remains good at home, but it’s very different away. It’s been a story of either a century or a duck. Runs haven’t been scored in the last few games. He has two centuries in overseas conditions, but if you remove the South Africa numbers, the numbers become very ordinary. However, since you have given him two games in Ireland and played him a match here as well, play him one more game,” Aakash Chopra said.

Chopra added that the opportunity to give Vaibhav Sooryavanshi an extended run in the series has effectively passed. Since the youngster cannot now feature in all five matches, he believes India should remain consistent with their selection policy rather than make a reactionary change after just one rain-affected game.

According to Aakash Chopra, Abhishek Sharma should continue opening alongside Samson, while Ishan Kishan should retain his place at No. 3. Captain Shreyas Iyer, who impressed with a composed half-century in the series opener, should continue at No. 4, followed by vice-captain Tilak Varma and all-rounder Shivam Dube in the middle order.

The former cricketer also recommended restoring Axar Patel to the No. 7 position after India experimented with Harshit Rana batting ahead of him in the first T20I. Chopra believes Axar’s experience makes him a better fit higher up the order, with Harshit slotting back to No. 8.

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On the bowling front, Chopra expects India to retain the spin combination of Ravi Bishnoi and Varun Chakaravarthy unless the Manchester pitch offers significant assistance to the fast bowlers. In that scenario, the team management could consider replacing one spinner with an additional seamer. Otherwise, he sees little reason to alter a side that performed well before rain denied fans a result in the series opener.