Former India player turned commentator Aakash Chopra has virtually ruled out the possibility of youngster Vaibhav Suryavanshi replacing Sanju Samson in India’s playing XI for the second T20I against the West Indies. He added that Samson’s place in the side cannot be questioned after every match. The second T20I between India and the West Indies will be played in Ranchi on Friday, October 9. India have a 1-0 lead in the five-match series after a comfortable eight-wicket win in the series opener in Lucknow three days ago.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “Since Bihar is in the neighborhood, there is talk of Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Will there be a chance of him playing? No, it won’t be there. You will have to agree that it cannot happen that he plays now, and if we start saying this about Sanju Samson after every match, then we are damned. How will you manage cricket then? Just don’t go there.”

“I seriously think about Nitish Kumar Reddy for sure. However, I can’t do that either after the first match. I wanted you to play Nitish from the start itself, because how will you prepare him? However, that’s my thinking and might be your thinking as well, but the Indian team is not thinking like that,” he added.

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“They are ready to move forward with Naman Dhir. Washington Sundar has been given a break and asked to prepare for the Test matches. They have invested in Naman Dhir, and he has not disappointed. He has picked up three wickets, batted very well in the last ODI, and fields very well. He is a very good package. I feel there will be no change. The team that played the previous match will play here as well,” Chopra expressed.

However, Aakash Chopra also added that the focus would be on Mayank Yadav in Friday’s game.

“The focus will be on how Mayank Yadav bowls because he has got the pace and bounce. The previous match wasn’t good. Hopefully, he returns to good form. Since we have come to the East, there will be a high chance of dew. So, win the toss and bowl first,” he said.

“West Indies, please bat better if you lose the toss because you can bat better than this. Your batting was extremely ordinary, and still you scored 170. If you had batted even slightly decently, 200 would have been scored, and if you had batted well, 225-230 would have been scored, and the match would have been enjoyable,” he concluded.