Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has backed the team management decision to play Vaibhav Sooryavanshi at number three in the second T20I against New Zealand. Pathan said separating Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson made little sense as both of them are in fine form.
Sooryavanshi was part of India’s playing XI for the second T20I against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch on Saturday after Ishan Kishan was ruled out with a groin niggle.
However, Sooryavanshi struggled to get going while batting at one drop. The youngster could only manage four runs off eight balls and was also dropped once.
Irfan Pathan said on Cricinfo, “Not in this team right now because both the openers have done very well. So it is very difficult to remove them from there. So whatever opportunity is available, Vaibhav should grab it at number three and he should try to make an impact at that position.”
Pathan admitted the pitch got better to bat on after the Powerplay overs and it would have been better for India if they had restricted New Zealand to 170.
He added, “Generally, after a wicket in powerplay, if the pitch gets slow, then you can say that. But the pitch didn’t get slow. The pitch got better comparatively. And this partnership happened, which led to the score. Yes, if you have spinners, wicket-taking spinners, then things would have been different. If we had stopped them around 170, then it would have been better.”
The third T20I between India and New Zealand will be played at Henry Stadium, Wellington on Tuesday.
Image credits: Kai Schwoerer/ Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
