Veteran commentator Aakash Chopra shared that Sanju Samson might not get a chance to play in the T20I series against New Zealand. However, Team India will take on New Zealand in a three-match T20I series, with the first game being played in Wellington on Friday, November 18.
While talking about the squad in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “You have selected Sanju Samson but where will you play him, because if Shreyas Iyer doesn’t play at No. 3, Suryakumar Yadav doesn’t play at No. 4 and Hardik doesn’t play at No. 5, where will they play?”
Aakash Chopra also stated that there is no place available in the middle order for the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter as well. However, Samson has so far smashed 296 runs at 135.15 in the 16 T20Is. He last played against the West Indies in August, scoring an unbeaten 30 and 15 runs at No. 5 and No. 4 respectively as well.
READ MORE: Suryakumar reveals the reasons behind Rohit Sharma’s weird gesture for Dinesh Karthik
He continued, “Suryakumar Yadav should not go below No. 4, Iyer should not go below No. 3 or No. 4 and Hardik shouldn’t go below No. 5. The earliest place available for Sanju Samson is No. 6 but he might not be useful there. You can play Deepak Hooda there, although most of Hooda’s runs have also come at the top of the order.”
However, Aakash Chopra also questioned Shubman Gill’s selection and added that Prithvi Shaw should have been selected as well. He also revealed that pacers like Umran Malik and Mohammed Siraj might not get a place in the playing XI as well.
READ MORE: Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s wife slams trolls through her Instagram post
“Is Shubman Gill your all-three format player or a T20 specialist? If he is not a T20 specialist and you want to write a new story, then Prithvi Shaw should have probably been there. Umran Malik and Mohammed Siraj are a part of your team but will you be able to play either of them? The question is that Arshdeep and Harshal are automatic choices because Harshal was part of the World Cup also and provides batting as well. I feel you will not be able to use the extra pace of Umran Malik and Siraj,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
