Cheteshwar Pujara has thrown his support behind out-of-form Sanju Samson, backing the India wicketkeeper-batter to continue opening alongside Abhishek Sharma despite a quiet run in the ongoing T20I series. Samson has managed scores of 5, 0 and 1 across the first three matches against Ireland and England, but Pujara feels the experienced batter deserves a longer run at the top.

With Vaibhav Sooryavanshi pushing for a chance after a brilliant IPL season, many fans have called for a change in the batting order. However, Pujara believes Samson has already shown his class on the biggest stage and should not be rushed out of the XI after a few low scores.

“I think India should persist with Sanju Samson. I don’t think he should be feeling any pressure. He has proved himself in the T20 World Cup and, with the kind of talent he possesses, he should be there in the playing XI,” Cheteshwar Pujara said on JioStar.

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The former India batter also made it clear that while Sooryavanshi is a talented prospect who deserves an opportunity, that chance should not come at the cost of India’s settled top order.

“There shouldn’t be a lot of noise about dropping Sanju Samson. He is a quality player and should get a longer run. Sanju just needs to bat naturally and not think too much,” he said.

“If Vaibhav needs to play, he should play, but not at the expense of dropping someone, rather by resting someone. If you want to give him an opportunity, that is fine. But you shouldn’t be dropping any of India’s top three players, whether it’s Sanju, Abhishek or Ishan Kishan. Having said that, Vaibhav does deserve an opportunity, and his opportunity will come,” Cheteshwar Pujara added.

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While Samson and Kishan have struggled for runs, Abhishek Sharma has been the standout among India’s top order. After a golden duck in the second T20I against Ireland, he struck 49 off 20 balls in the first match and followed it up with a blazing 59 off 24 against England. Kishan, meanwhile, will be under pressure to improve after scores of 1, 12 and 0 in his last three outings.