Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has come up with a suggestion for the Indian team. He said that with Shreyas Iyer being injured and Rohit Sharma set to miss the first game, the management should look to include Sanju Samson in the team.
India will play the first game without the services of Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer
India and Australia will lock horns with each other in the three-match series. The first game of the series will be played on 17th March in Mumbai followed by the second and third games to be played on 19th and 22nd March in Visakhapatnam and Chennai respectively.
With the series yet to begin India has been jolted by a blow as Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the series due to a back injury. He complained of a back injury ahead of the Day 5 of the fourth Test against Australia in Ahmedabad and was ruled out of the game. It is learned that the back injury that has troubled him for a while has reoccurred and might take some time to heal.
One has a back problem
while the other one has a backing problem #SanjuSamson #shreyasiyer pic.twitter.com/OkmHEzd3RrAdvertisement— Vaisakh Menon (@tweetsofvm) March 16, 2023
On the other hand, skipper Rohit Sharma will also miss the first game as he has to attend the marriage of his brother-in-law. The captain will be back for the second game but no replacement has been made for the Iyer yet.
“Shouldn’t Sanju Samson be included in the squad?” Aakash Chopra cites reasons why the team should include a keeper batter in the team
With India lacking a batter in the middle, many have raised calls to include Sanju Samson in the side. The batter has been put in the sidelines despite performing well in the ODI format. Aakash Chopra was also among the ones who wants team management to add a keeper batter in the team.
Taking to the Twitter account, he highlighted that the absence of Iyer and Rohit will leave a void in the Indian side and therefore they should bring in Sanju Samson into the team. He said: “Rohit isn’t available for the first ODI. Shreyas isn’t available for the entire series. Shouldn’t Sanju Samson be included in the squad?”
Rohit isn’t available for the first ODI. Shreyas isn’t available for the entire series. Shouldn’t Sanju Samson be included in the squad? #IndvAus #ODI
Advertisement— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) March 16, 2023
Samson has been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit, IPL and the limited opportunities in the national side. He did a good job against West Indies and Zimbabwe before playing staggering knocks against a full-strength South African team. After that then played only ODI against New Zealand and was benched for the next two games due to team combination before getting rested for Bangladesh ODIs.
He then found himself in the T20I side but was dropped from the ODI team for the Sri Lanka series. It was expected that Samson would get a longer rope in the shortest format of the game. But to worsen things more, he got injured and was ruled out of the series followed by a series against New Zealand.
