"You cannot ignore him at all" - Aakash Chopra feels Sanju Samson's 'brilliant' last-game performance has kept him afloat in the World Cup race
Aakash Chopra reckons Sanju Samson's swashbuckling knock in the final ODI against the West Indies should keep him in the race for a spot in India's World Cup squad.
Samson smashed 51 runs off 41 deliveries as the Men in Blue set a mammoth 352-run target for the Windies in Trinidad on Tuesday, August 1. The visitors then bowled out Shai Hope and Co. for 151 to register an emphatic 200-run win and seal the three-match series 2-1.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that Samson cannot be overlooked for a World Cup berth after his aggressive knock in the final ODI, stating:
"There was a question about Sanju Samson. He was brilliant in the last game. He batted extremely well and in a different fashion. The position at which he batted, he stays afloat, because it's the place where he can get a chance."
The former Indian opener added:
"He will play the T20s as well, he is a part of that series. One match was bad and he scored runs in the other match. I will look at runs because anyone can have a bad match. The ability and the method to score runs, he scored a fifty, of course, you cannot ignore him at all."
However, Chopra feels Ishan Kishan is ahead in the second wicketkeeper-batter's race assuming KL Rahul is fit and available. He added that Rahul and Shreyas Iyer's absence from the Indian squad for the T20I series against Ireland raises doubts about their fitness.
"The way he batted in the last match was heartening to see" - Aakash Chopra on Hardik Pandya
![Hardik Pandya scored an unbeaten 70 off 52 balls in Tuesday's game. [P/C: BCCI]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/08/18d89-16909555839385-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra expressed delight at Hardik Pandya's approach with the bat in the final ODI, explaining:
"Hardik Pandya - the form is back. The way he batted in the last match was heartening to see because he took his time at the start and then the acceleration after that - five sixes and four fours. No one hits straight sixes better than him. So that's always a great story."
The reputed commentator isn't too concerned about Suryakumar Yadav's underwhelming performances against the Windies. He feels the finisher's role in ODIs will suit the unconventional batter, elaborating:
"Suryakumar Yadav hasn't been able to score too many runs but it does not matter because he is going to play the T20Is now in any case and he has also been given that number now, that he can bat in the last 10 overs. Surya will score runs there because that game suits him a lot."
Suryakumar scored a 30-ball 35 in the final ODI. He got off to starts in all three games but failed to convert them into substantial efforts, aggregating 78 runs at an average of 26.00.