Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif reckons Sanju Samson has been sidelined in India’s T20I team as Shubman Gill has been groomed as the next T20I captain. Kaif highlighted that Jitesh Sharma is now backed as a wicket-keeper as he can add the finishing touches while batting at number five or six.
Jitesh has been preferred ahead of Sanju Samson in the last two T20Is against Australia. Sharma returned with an unbeaten knock of 17 runs in the third game but was dismissed for three runs in the fourth T20I.
On the other hand, Samson was dismissed after scoring only two runs in the second game of the series when he was promoted to number three. Before the Asia Cup, Samson was opening the innings with Abhishek Sharma and had grabbed his chances as he had scored three centuries. But he hasn’t been able to nail his position in the middle order.
“If Sanju Samson was playing, there would be no confusion, but with Shubman Gill as vice-captain playing in all matches, Sanju Samson seems sidelined. Jitesh Sharma is seen as a better finisher at number five or six than Sanju, which works in Sharma’s favor. But because Gill is being groomed as a future captain and player, Sanju has lost his spot. Sanju’s record is excellent, strike rate around 150. But they are backing players by the batting number position now,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
Kaif highlighted that Shubman Gill will need to come up with a big performance in a series before the T20 World Cup to ease off the pressure on his shoulders.
“Gill is being backed as a future captain. He is getting to play all matches. But it is not like he is not a good player. They are not backing for no reason. He has played well in IPL for Gujarat, with good averages in Tests and ODIs. There is nothing less in him as a player but he is still taking time to get his best form in T20s. Gill does not have a big innings but there are many matches before the World Cup. He will have to deliver a Man of the Match or Man of the Series type performance to release that pressure. Then people will talk less about Sanju and Jaiswal,” he said.
The fifth and final T20I of the series between Australia and India will be played at the Gabba, Brisbane, on Saturday.
