Sanju Samson's Fate For T20 World Cup All But Sealed After 1st India vs SA T20I? Ex-Star Paints Grim Picture
If starting with Jitesh Sharma in the last three T20s in Australia felt like an experiment, his selection over fellow wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson in the series opener against South Africa provided ample clarity about the team management's thought process going into the T20 World Cup
If starting with Jitesh Sharma in the last three T20s in Australia felt like an experiment, his selection over fellow wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson in the series opener against South Africa provided ample clarity about the team management's thought process going into the World Cup at home. The think tank can't be blamed for preferring a specialist lower-order finisher ahead of Samson, who was displaced at the top of the order through no fault of his own after Shubman Gill's return to the shortest format. He has struggled to make the eleven since then.
Jitesh, who calls his finisher's role in the team his bread and butter, is expected to start the T20 World Cup for India unless he fares poorly in the preceding series against South Africa and New Zealand.
At this stage, it is also difficult to look beyond Samson and Jitesh for the wicketkeeping options in the squad. Do the selectors need to think out of the box in this context? "It is the right call. If Sanju is not in the top three and if the keeper is batting in the middle order, you would rather play a specialist lower-order batter than a top-order batter. It is not easy batting for two balls or four balls.
"Jitesh is a specialist in that regard," former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta told PTI. "Nine games to go (before the World Cup), I don't see too many changes ahead of the T20 World Cup," he reckoned.
The selection on Tuesday night also made it clear that it is difficult to accommodate both Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav in the eleven if the team needs batting depth till number eight. In spin-friendly conditions in the UAE, Arshdeep, India's leading wicket-taker, was benched for a majority of the games, raising a few eyebrows.
He was picked for three of the five games Down Under before making an impact in the series opener against the Proteas in Cuttack, dismissing the dangerous batter caught behind with an outswinger.
The left-arm pacer's death-bowling skills are also hard to match in the shortest format.
With Arshdeep in the side, another match-winner, Kuldeep Yadav, was left out.
In the ODI series, Kuldeep had managed to take a clutch of wickets even in heavy dew, underlining his immense value to the side.
"It is unfortunate (picking between Arshdeep and Kuldeep). The way Arshdeep is bowling, you have to pick him. He is the highest wicket-taker for you in the format.
"You would want to have both ideally, but you can't (with batting needed till 8)," said Dasgupta, who is part of the commentary panel for the ongoing series.
India Cricket Team
Sanju Samson