Aakash Chopra: No place for Sanju Samson in India playing XI

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra feels that there is ‘no place in the playing XI’ for Sanju Samson in the Indian team, adding that the wicketkeeper-batter had got some opportunities to play for India but failed to make full use of it.

Despite his impressive domestic performances, and leading Rajasthan Royals (RR) to the Indian Premier League (IPL) final in 2022, Sanju Samson has struggled for consistency in the international stage for India. Samson has played 11 ODIs and 17 T20Is so far for India, having scored 330 and 301 runs respectively in both the formats.

“Sanju has a cult following. When he plays well, he makes batting look easy. Got some opportunities for India but didn’t make the most of them. And this is a reality that fans do not understand. Sanju realises that he is going to get limited opportunities in the current set-up,” Aakash Chopra said on YouTuber Ranveer Allahabadia’s show  TRS Clips.

“There is just no place in the XI. Ishan Kishan scored a double-century and yet was benched for the next few matches. When he did, he was asked to bat at No. 5. There isn’t a place. And it’s not because KL Rahul wasn’t available. Had he been available, he would have still sat out. So that is the level of quality that is available. When the opportunity comes, just grab it away. If you throw it away for whatever reason, then you regret it,” added Aakash Chopra.

Following India’s exit from the T20 World Cup, where they lost to England by 10 wickets in the semi-final, there was a huge outcry on social media, as some of Samson’s fans felt that things would have been different if Samson was part of the squad. However, Chopra feels otherwise.

“People said ‘Play him and everything will fall in place. We would have even won the World Cup final’. They wouldn’t realise that the bowlers had an off day or that Karthik or Pant would have played in front of him. But in reality, his batting wouldn’t have made any difference,” added the 45-year-old.