"The big question was what more can the guy do" - Aakash Chopra on Sanju Samson being dropped for 2nd ODI
Aakash Chopra has acknowledged that the hue and cry on social media about Sanju Samson being dropped is justifiable to a certain extent. However, he believes the team management did not have any other option.
Samson played a decent 36-run knock in India's first ODI against New Zealand in Auckland on Friday, November 25. The wicketkeeper-batter was replaced by Deepak Hooda for the second game on Sunday, November 27, a match that eventually did not yield a result due to rain.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra highlighted that the team selection garnered considerable attention on social media, elaborating:
"In the second ODI, Sanju was dropped and Deepak Hooda was played. Twitter erupted that why Sanju was dropped. The match got abandoned because of rain but the big question was what more can the guy do."
The former Indian opener feels Samson couldn't have played ahead of Rishabh Pant. He reasoned:
"You could be justified if you had said that he should have been played instead of Rishabh Pant. It might have been theoretically correct but is it practical? No, because Rishabh Pant is the vice-captain of this Indian team for this series."
Chopra added that the team management couldn't have lost patience with Pant so quickly, considering he would have been made the vice-captain only because he must have been identified as a candidate to be India's future leader.
"The problem is not Rishabh Pant versus Sanju Samson" - Aakash Chopra
Chopra reckons the choice was never between Pant and Samson. He explained:
"Deepak Hooda was played instead of him (Samson). Are you getting confused? The problem is of all-rounders. The problem is not Rishabh Pant versus Sanju Samson, the problem is who will be the sixth bowler and that is why Deepak Hooda came."
The reputed commentator added that the balance of the side rather than Samson's performances contributed to his exit, stating:
"He was not left out because of bad performance, the reason was that the team needed a player with a different skill set. They played Deepak Hooda so that they can get little bowling."
Dhawan said "We wanted the 6th bowling option so got Hooda back in the side".
Chopra concluded by observing that Samson would have continued to be in the XI if any of Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Shubman Gill or Shikhar Dhawan were capable of bowling a few decent overs.