"He would have come in place of either Tilak or Surya" - Aakash Chopra on Sanju Samson's exclusion from India's main Asia Cup squad
Aakash Chopra feels Sanju Samson might consider himself slightly unlucky not to be picked ahead of either Suryakumar Yadav or Tilak Varma in India's main Asia Cup squad.
The selectors named a 17-member Indian squad for the upcoming continental tournament on Monday, August 21. Samson has been picked as an additional traveling reserve due to uncertainties surrounding KL Rahul's availability because of a niggle.
Reflecting on the development in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that Samson could have only replaced either Suryakumar or Tilak in the squad. He observed:
"The first big news is that Sanju Samson's name is not there. In whose place could his name have come? He would have come in place of either Tilak or Surya. He could have become a part of the 17 in place of either of them."
The former Indian opener reckons the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter and his supporters might consider themselves unfortunate. He reasoned:
"Sanju Samson's fans and Sanju Samson himself might consider themselves slightly unlucky because his performances are good in ODIs as of now as well. He has an average of over 50 and he scored a fifty in the West Indies also. There is no doubt that he plays well. He has a little work experience as well."
Samson has amassed 390 runs at an excellent average of 55.71 and an equally impressive strike rate of 104.00 in 12 ODI innings. Although he was dismissed cheaply in the second ODI against the West Indies, he smashed 51 runs off 41 balls in the series decider.
"Sanju Samson is definitely the second option after KL Rahul" - Aakash Chopra on his initial thought as middle-order wicketkeeper-batter
Aakash Chopra pointed out that Sanju Samson was his preferred choice ahead of Ishan Kishan as KL Rahul's backup if the wicketkeeper-batter had to play in the middle order. He stated:
"To be very honest, my initial thought was that if a wicketkeeper has to play in the middle order, Sanju Samson is definitely the second option after KL Rahul. However, if a place can be created as an opener, then Ishan Kishan, without a shadow of doubt, is your second wicketkeeper."
The cricketer-turned-commentator isn't sure whether Suryakumar Yadav merits a place ahead of Samson considering the T20I superstar's indifferent ODI numbers. He explained:
"Suryakumar Yadav's story in ODI cricket has not been good. We all know that he is a very good player and we also want his ODI career to flourish but the truth is that he hasn't been able to understand the ODI template thus far. The problem is that you have very little time."
Chopra added that Tilak Varma hasn't even made his ODI debut and has been picked just to get a left-handed middle-order batter who can roll his arm over as well. He elaborated:
"Tilak Varma does not have any work experience at all in ODI cricket. He has a lot of potential. He bats left-handed and bowls a little as well. No one bowls in India's top five. So Tilak Varma has been selected to resolve that issue."
Chopra opined that the Rajasthan Royals skipper could have been picked ahead of either of the Mumbai Indians batters and thereby been in the World Cup's scheme of things on a serious note. He concluded by stating that Samson's fans have every reason to be aggrieved.