Is Sanju Samson playing today's IND vs PAK 2024 T20 World Cup match?
Team India wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson misses out on selection from the playing XI for the 2024 T20 World Cup encounter against Pakistan. The Group A match is set to begin at the Nassau County International Stadium in New York on Sunday, June 9.
The Men in Blue continue to entrust Rishabh Pant in the No. 3 role as well as with the gloves. India will be looking to bat deep with as many bowling options as possible. Moreover, with the middle order arguably picking itself, there is no place for Samson in the mix.
Team India skipper Rohit Sharma confirmed that the batter was not part of the playing XI during the toss, which was delayed due to rain.
"Would've bowled first too. We need to assess how conditions play and come up with an idea of what a good score is. Those games have helped us assess conditions here. We've spoken about what we need to do as a batting unit to get a good score and then we've got the bowling unit to defend. Every game is important in a World Cup, you can't just show up. Anything can happen," Rohit Sharma said after India were put to bat first
Team India have chosen the same playing XI that won against Ireland in their first match of the tournament. This leads to ace spinner Kuldeep Yadav missing out for the second time in a row, primarily because of the batting depth concerns. Apart from Kuldeep, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Yashasvi Jaiswal have to sit out.
Samson featured in Team India's warm-up win over Bangladesh
Samson had last played in the warm-up encounter against Bangladesh, where he featured as an opener in Virat Kohli's absence. The right-handed batter, however, couldn't make an impression as he scored only one run off six deliveries before being trapped LBW by Shoriful Islam.
Samson is generally amid a good run of form after a prolific IPL 2024 campaign that saw him cross the 500-run barrier for the first time in his career. However, unfortunately, it is difficult for him to find a place in the current batting setup. Potentially, only an injury or drastic drop in form to one of the batters can see him coming into the playing XI.