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“Why can’t someone like Iyer bowl and include Sanju in Pant’s place?”, Twitter reacts as Shikhar Dhawan reveals that they had to bench Sanju Samson for a sixth bowling option

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Sanju Samson was dropped from the playing XI for the second ODI game despite a decent knock in the series opener on Friday in Auckland. Fans took to Twitter to express their outrage at the decision to bench Sanju Samson and bring in Deepak Hooda for India. Dhawan explained why he benched Samson in the second game, which was called off after 12.5 overs because of rain.

Hardik Pandya called his benching for the whole T20I series an “unfortunate scenario” and said it was for “strategic” reasons. Samson, however, was selected for the ODI, and he ended up scoring 36 runs off of 38 balls and putting together a 96-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer.

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However, Samson was not included in the lineup for the second ODI. After losing the coin toss, Dhawan explained why Samson had to be benched.

He explained that the team needed a sixth bowling option in the playing XI. So, they had to pick Deepak Hooda and bench Sanju Samson. He also added that Deepak Chahar found a place in the playing XI because he can swing the ball and also is a good batsman lower down the order.

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“We wanted the sixth bowler to come in, so Sanju Samson missed out and Hooda came in. And Chahar was picked because he can swing the ball really well. A few of our guys are resting but this side is still strong, shows the depth of our squad,” he explained.

For the third and final ODI of the series, Samson will be sidelined if India sticks to its current plan. If India does need an extra bowling alternative, then Hooda should have been included in place of Rishabh Pant. Pant has been struggling with the bat off late. So, Samson should have played as a wicketkeeper in his position.

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Twitter Reacts:

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