“This situation makes no sense” - Aakash Chopra slams Indian team management for benching Sanju Samson

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has slammed the Indian team management, involving Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir, for benching the keeper-batter Sanju Samson.

Interestingly, Samson, who was slotted in the middle-order at the start of the T20I series, was later promoted to No.3 in the second T20I. However, he was later benched in the third and fourth T20Is, raising serious concerns about his spot in the XI.

“The biggest question is, what are we doing with Sanju Samson? He has done reasonably well, scoring a fifty against Oman and performing decently in the Asia Cup final. Yet, he keeps getting moved around and dropped. The management said they know what they are doing with him, and we respected that, but now this situation makes no sense,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

“If Jitesh has done well and the team has won, logic says you continue with him. But will they actually do that? I don’t know. There’s no clear direction here,” he added.

It’s worth noting that since the last T20 World Cup 2024, Sanju Samson has been India’s third-highest run-scorer in T20Is. He also scored a record three centuries in the previous calendar year. However, he lost his opening slot to Shubman Gill, who has been elevated as the new vice-captain of the Indian T20I team.

“You played him in the (Asia Cup) final and he scored a few runs. You only told us that he can bat down the order. We were saying you should make him open only, and if you are not doing that, play Jitesh. That was my original position, but you said you will be able to take care of Sanju Samson and will play him, and you know what you are doing. We respected that,” he concluded.

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