Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra believes there could be a toss up between Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan in India’s T20 World Cup playing XI. Sanju Samson is expected to be India’s first-choice opener with Abhishek Sharma for the T20I showpiece but he hasn’t come up with consistent performances.

While Samson returned to the opening slot, Kishan made a comeback to the team after three years. Samson was dismissed for 10 runs whereas Kishan got out after scoring eight runs. Both the batters had soft dismissals and would want to bounce back in the second T20I.

Ishan Kishan recently scored 517 runs in 10 matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy while leading Jharkhand to glory.

Aakash Chopra said on ESPN Cricinfo, “I’m not 100% certain yet because I think eventually it will be a toss-up between Sanju and Ishan Kishan. The next few games might actually give us an answer.”

On the other hand, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav scored a decent knock of 32 runs off 22 balls. Chopra said SKY is yet to come back to full form as he couldn’t convert his start.

Chopra concluded, “He did hit a couple of wonderful shots to begin, but the way he got dismissed, eventually, you’ll say a glass is half full or half empty. You want to actually believe that it’s half full and you’re getting there. But let’s be fair, it’s between half full or half empty. It’s not full yet because the 50 hasn’t come. The 100 hasn’t come.”

The second T20I between India and New Zealand will be played at Raipur on Friday.