Former India cricketer turned commentator Aakash Chopra commented on star India batter Sanju Samson after the first T20I against New Zealand. He gave a firm answer to Samson’s critics after his stunning performance. India beat New Zealand by four wickets and successfully chased down 226 runs in 19.4 overs as well. Samson scored 67 runs off 33 balls with eight fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 203.03 as well.

“Before, it was justice for Sanju, now you are saying to remove Sanju. What is going on? Now you are saying there is favoritism and bias. This is his eighth fifty in his last 20 innings. He smashed so much in the first six overs that New Zealand was almost done then and there. Whoever are his critics right now, for the time being, please have your fingers on your lips. No talking anymore. He is batting brilliantly. Let’s be a little more lenient,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel. “Shreyas Iyer played well. He likes playing in New Zealand. It looked like India tapered off a bit at one point, but he was there, and he was good.”

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Meanwhile, veteran India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar made his comeback in the first T20I against New Zealand. However, it was not a great return for him as he conceded 49 runs in four overs and remained wicketless. However, Aakash Chopra was unsure of what to make of Bhuvneshwar’s comeback.

“I don’t know how to rate Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s comeback. He also gave away 49 runs from four overs. His first over was good, but he also got hit after that. I actually liked how Mayank Yadav bowled. He was good. Was this an opportunity to try a few overs from Naman Dhir? They did not at all. New Zealand played more spinners than we did. Maybe we should play one more,” he concluded.