Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra feels Sanju Samson might consider himself unlucky not to be selected ahead of either Suryakumar Yadav or Tilak Varma in India’s main Asia Cup squad. However, the selectors named a 17-member Indian squad for the upcoming mega event on Monday, August 21. Samson has been selected as an additional travelling reserve due to uncertainties over KL Rahul’s availability because of a niggle as well.
Reflecting on the development in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “The first big news is that Sanju Samson’s name is not there. In whose place could his name have come? He would have come in place of either Tilak or Surya. He could have become a part of the 17 in place of either of them. Sanju Samson’s fans and Sanju Samson himself might consider themselves slightly unlucky because his performances are good in ODIs as of now as well. He has an average of over 50 and he scored a fifty in the West Indies also. There is no doubt that he plays well. He has a little work experience as well.”
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Sanju Samson has scored 390 runs which came at an excellent average of 55.71 and an impressive strike rate of 104.00 in 12 ODI innings. Although he was dismissed very cheaply in the second ODI against the West Indies, he hit 51 runs off 41 balls in the game. However, Aakash Chopra added that Sanju Samson was his preferred choice before Ishan Kishan as KL Rahul’s backup as well.
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“To be very honest, my initial thought was that if a wicketkeeper has to play in the middle order, Sanju Samson is definitely the second option after KL Rahul. However, if a place can be created as an opener, then Ishan Kishan, without a shadow of doubt, is your second wicketkeeper. Suryakumar Yadav’s story in ODI cricket has not been good. We all know that he is a very good player and we also want his ODI career to flourish but the truth is that he hasn’t been able to understand the ODI template thus far. The problem is that you have very little time. Tilak Varma does not have any work experience at all in ODI cricket. He has a lot of potential. He bats left-handed and bowls a little as well. No one bowls in India’s top five. So Tilak Varma has been selected to resolve that issue,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
