Sanju Samson is back in India’s T20I squad for the upcoming series against Afghanistan, giving the wicketkeeper-batter another chance to reclaim his place at the top of the order.Samson was left out of the squad for the Zimbabwe tour after being dropped from the playing XI following three failures. His omission came despite being named Player of the Tournament during India’s T20 World Cup campaign earlier this year.Since India’s World Cup triumph, the team management has continued to experiment with its batting combinations, particularly in the opening slot. Teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was fast-tracked into the senior side after a remarkable IPL season and has already been given opportunities to open alongside Abhishek Sharma.With Samson now returning, former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta believes the Afghanistan series could be an opportunity to test another combination, with Samson and Sooryavanshi yet to open together for India.
‘We haven’t seen the Sanju-Vaibhav combination yet’
Dasgupta pointed out that India have already tried Samson alongside Abhishek Sharma and Sooryavanshi alongside Abhishek, but have not yet seen what Samson and the teenage batter can produce together at the top.“Straight away, if you think about the last match (England T20Is), it was Sanju and Abhishek. Leave Zimbabwe aside. When all three were available, Sanju and Abhishek were there. I think we haven’t seen the Sanju-Vaibhav combination yet. So far, we’ve seen Abhishek-Vaibhav and Abhishek-Sanju, right? It’s not a bad idea to even try and see what kind of combination Sanju and Vaibhav can make,” Dasgupta said on his YouTube channel.
Sooryavanshi strengthens case for opening spot
Sooryavanshi has given the selectors another reason to consider him as a regular option at the top after an impressive series against Zimbabwe.The 15-year-old finished as the leading run-scorer with 151 runs in three innings, averaging 50.33 and striking at 196.10. His performances included a match-winning 81 and two half-centuries, earning him the Player of the Series award.His contribution also played a role in India securing their first series victory under newly appointed T20I captain Shreyas Iyer. India had previously suffered series defeats against Ireland and England.
Dasgupta doesn’t want Abhishek to be dropped
While advocating for a possible Samson-Sooryavanshi combination, Dasgupta stressed that he was not calling for any of the three players to be left out.Instead, he wants India to use the matches leading into the T20 World Cup to assess different combinations and ensure players get sufficient opportunities before the final decision is made.“Again, I’m not saying, please don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about dropping anyone here. I’m just saying, reiterating again, that the idea is that before the World Cup, you want to give every combination and every individual a proper chance and proper game time to understand what works,” he added.With Samson back and Sooryavanshi making a strong case for himself, India’s opening combination is likely to remain one of the key talking points during the Afghanistan series.
