Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth has questioned the team management for demoting Sanju Samson in the batting order amid the T20I series against Australia. Since Shubman Gill has been named as India’s vice-captain in T20Is, he has been opening the innings with Abhishek Sharma, while Samson has been pushed down.
Meanwhile, Samson was doing a fine job as an opener and had scored three centuries. But the team’s think tank decided to demote him in the middle order to give the opening slot to Shubman Gill.
Samson batted in the middle order in the Asia Cup and also didn’t get a chance to bat against Bangladesh as he was pushed down to number eight.
Kris Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel, “The guy who’s most unlucky is Sanju Samson. He was scoring centuries as an opener. But now they send him everywhere from 3 to 8. If given an opportunity, they may send him at 11 also. So a person like Sanju also will feel bad, having done so well at the top. But he has no option but to be tight-lipped and bat wherever the team asks him to.”
“The only good thing is he did well at 5 in the Asia Cup. It’s a good sign for him because now Sanju is the automatic choice as the first wicketkeeper for the T20 World Cup. He is sure to bat at No. 5.”
On the other hand, the 1983 World Cup-winning player said Hardik Pandya will replace Harshit Rana in the 2026 T20 World Cup final XI. Pandya has been India’s first choice seam bowling all-rounder and he is currently recovering from an injury.
“The 11 that played today is more or less the one for the T20 World Cup. Hardik Pandya will come into the 11 for Harshit Rana. That’ll be the 11 for the World Cup. Arshdeep might have to miss out again because of the combination as we have to play three spinners,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
Srikkanth highlighted that India has won 34 T20Is matches, in which Shivam Dube has been part of the final XI.
“Dube can’t be dropped because India have won whenever he has played. He somehow ends up taking wickets even with his medium-pace bowling. So he’s your sixth option. So the team is almost set for the T20 World Cup. Now it’s all just about having match practice and getting into the rhythm.”
The second T20I between Australia and India will be played at the MCG on Friday.
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