Aakash Chopra says it would be wrong if Sanju Samson sits out in Asia Cup

Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra feels the team management would do wrong if opener Sanju Samson fails to find a place in the team’s playing XI in the upcoming Asia Cup. Samson has delivered consistently in T20Is and he has scored three T20I centuries in the last 12 matches.

But, the right-hander could only manage 51 runs in five matches against England as he was troubled by short-pitch stuff. However, Samson was in fine form in the Kerala Cricket League as he has scored 368 runs in five innings at an average of 73.60 and a strike rate of 186.80 while leading Kochi Blue Tigers.

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill has been named as India’s vice-captain for continental tournament and thus he could be backed ahead of Samson as an opener. As a finisher, Jitesh Sharma has better numbers and he could be India’s first-choice wicket-keeper.

“Is there any weakness? In my opinion, you will do an injustice to whoever you make sit out. That’s the weakness. It doesn’t sound very right, but it is what it is. If you make Sanju Samson sit out, you feel you are doing wrong, as you were making him open consistently and he was doing well. He scored three hundreds in 12 matches,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.

Similarly, Chopra feels if Rinku Singh and Kuldeep Yadav sit out, then it would be injustice on them.

“If you make Rinku Singh sit out, you will again feel you are doing wrong. If you are unable to fit in Kuldeep Yadav, it will be a problem. If you are unable to bat Axar Patel up the order, it will seem like you are doing an injustice. So it’s a tight rope to walk. Whatever you do, you can be criticized. That is not a weakness, but this is what it is,” he observed.

Speaking on the team’s strategy, Chopra said India should look to bowl first if there is dew factor in the UAE.

“What will be our strategy? It’s time-tested that if there is dew, you will want to bowl first and chase if you win the toss. However, if there is no dew, then it’s even-stevens. I am seeing the strategy not only from the point of view of winning matches, but also from the template perspective,” he said in the same video.

Chopra said India would continue playing with an aggressive batting approach.

“This team has started batting with a different template consistently. This is the team that plays attacking cricket. If you are a cut above the rest, then it must reflect in your performances. So strategy for India, in my opinion, should be to just go for absolute glory,” the cricketer-turned-commentator added.

India will begin their Asia Cup campaign against the UAE on September 10 in Dubai.