Cricketer-turn-commentator Aakash Chopra believes Sanju Samson’s strong knock in the final ODI against the West Indies should keep him in the running for a place in India’s World Cup team. Sanju Samson hit 51 runs in 41 balls as the team India set a target of 352 runs for the West Indies in Trinidad on Tuesday, August 1, 2023. The tourists then bowled out Shai Hope and their team for 151 runs to register an emphatic 200-run win. And won the three matches series 2-1.
Aakash Chopra said Samson cannot be overlooked for a place in the World Cup after his aggressive inning in the Final ODI. He said:
“There was a question about Sanju Samson. He was brilliant in the last game. He batted extremely well and in a different fashion. The position at which he batted, he stays afloat, because it’s the place where he can get a chance.”
The former Indian opener added:
“He will play the T20s as well, he is a part of that series. One match was bad and he scored runs in the other match. I will look at runs because anyone can have a bad match. The ability and the method to score runs, he scored a fifty, of course, you cannot ignore him at all.”
However, Aakash Chopra feels Ishan Kishan is the frontrunner for the other wicketkeeper-batsman, assuming KL Rahul is fit and available. He said that the absence of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer in the Indian team for the T20 series against Ireland raises doubts over their fitness.
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The Way He Batted in The Last Match Was Heartening to See – Aakash Chopra on Hardik Pandya
Expressing happiness over Hardik Pandya’s performance with the bat in the final ODI, Aakash Chopra said:
“Hardik Pandya – the form is back. The way he batted in the last match was heartening to see because he took his time at the start and then the acceleration after that – five sixes and four fours. No one hits straight sixes better than him. So that’s always a great story.”
“Suryakumar Yadav hasn’t been able to score too many runs but it does not matter because he is going to play the T20Is now in any case and he has also been given that number now, that he can bat in the last 10 overs. Surya will score runs there because that game suits him a lot.”
