SL vs IND | Have high hopes from Sanju Samson to deliver in the series-decider, says Aakash Chopra
Samson in action for India in the ongoing Sri Lanka tour
|Renowned cricket expert Aakash Chopra has thrown his weight behind India's wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson and has stated that he has high hopes for him in the final T20I against Sri Lanka. He added that both Samson and Shikhar Dhawan are pillars of the side and will be key in the series-decider.
With scores of 27 and 7 in the ongoing T20I series against Sri Lanka, Sanju Samson, despite his brilliant run of form in this year's IPL, has disappointed one and all. In the second game, there were high expectations from Samson, given he was the second most experienced batsman in the line-up, yet he made a scratchy seven off 13 and got out to Dananjaya in a bizarre manner. Even in the final ODI of the series, Samson, after getting a start, had failed to translate it into a big knock.
With him one of the contenders for middle-order slots in the Indian side for the World T20, such displays aren't going to help as opportunities are rare in the national set-up. Now, he will have a final go in the series-decider today to leave an impact, given this will be India's final T20 international before this year's T20 World Cup.
Indian cricket expert Aakash Chopra has opined that he's still hopeful of a good show from the Kerala batsman and stated that people only expect from him as he has a lot of capability.
“I am still hopeful of Sanju Samson doing well. I know he is not batting at the position that he is comfortable at. Sanju Samson has only played nine matches. You have expectations from those players who, you know, have the capability. Sanju Samson has that ability to perform. He is comparatively more experienced compared to the others, may be not at the international level but definitely in the IPL. He has been playing the IPL for a long time and is even the captain of a franchise (Rajasthan Royals). I have high hopes from him,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Chopra added that Dhawan needs to play sensibly like he has done in the entire white-ball series and feels that both Dhawan and Samson will be key for India in the third and final T20I on Thursday, which marks the end of the tour.
“Shikhar Dhawan needs to keep playing in the sensible manner that he has been doing. Dhawan and Sanju Samson will be the pillars of the batting lineup in the final T20I. What the others like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal and Nitish Rana score will be a bonus. If Dhawan and Sanju Samson take India to a par score, then you never know what can happen. This Sri Lankan team doesn’t know how to cross the finish line. Even in the second T20I, they got stuck a bit.”
