Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has said that Sanju Samson should be among the primary players for a wicketkeeper-batter’s position in Team India’s squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup. However, he added that the Kerala player’s numbers in the middle order, where he might have to bat, aren’t that good.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said: “Sanju Samson is the first contender because he played the last series. He has struck three centuries in the last 12 matches. He is also a part of the team at the moment. So, of course, he will be the first guy to talk about. If we see his numbers at Nos. 1 to 3 in all T20s, he has scored more than 6000 runs at a strike rate of 140 and an average of 33. These are really good numbers at Nos. 1 to 3.”
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“So Sanju Samson is a real contender if you want a keeper in the top three. When I look at his numbers at Nos. 4 to 7, he has played 98 matches and has an average of 20 and a strike rate of 126. Neither the strike rate nor the average looks very good at Nos. 4 to 7. You would have kept Sanju as a frontrunner at the top. However, suddenly, when you change his number, he will go down in the list,” Chopra again added.
However, Aakash Chopra also stated that KL Rahul has an excellent average in the top order, but he also falls slightly short in terms of strike rate as well.
“It’s being said that he (Rahul) is an all-format player, is scoring runs everywhere, has found this second wind, and whatnot. If we look at Nos. 1 to 3, he has an average of nearly 43 and a strike rate of 137 in 196 innings. The strike rate can be slightly better, there is doubt about that, but an average of 42, that is phenomenal,” he said.
“His numbers in the top three are very good, but we are not supposed to look very deep and spend too much time on numbers in the top three. When I look at Nos. 4 to 7, he still has an average of 40, but he has a strike rate of 133. I don’t think a strike rate of 133 at Nos. 4 to 7 is going to cut it. No one looks close to KL Rahul in terms of average, but a strike rate of 133,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
