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Aakash Chopra picks who between Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma will be dropped from India’s 11 due to Shubman Gill’s return as vice-captain.
One of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma might get dropped from the Indian 11.
(AFP Photos)
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar might have left the decision on India’s new T20I opening combination — who to choose between Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma — on the team management, but ex-cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that it indicates that Samson is set to be dropped soon.
Abhishek and Samson were India’s designated duo against England in the last T20I series in January-February. Abhishek impressed in that series to rise to the best-ranked ICC batter in the format. While Samson struggled (only 51 runs in five innings), he scored three centuries in the previous two series.
Chopra feels that giving Gill, an opener, the vice-captaincy all but decided that he’d be the team’s new top-order batter.
“India seems to be moving in the direction of an all-format captain,” Chopra said on JioHotstar. “With Shubman Gill’s return, Sanju Samson’s fate has more or less been sealed. He will not feature in the playing XI now. You will not drop Tilak Varma or Hardik Pandya, which means Samson sits out and Jitesh Sharma will likely get the nod again. One thing is very clear from this selection, the batting slots have been prioritised over personalities. With Gill coming in as vice-captain, he will definitely play and open the batting. This essentially pushes Sanju Samson out of the XI,” he added.
Agarkar was asked about the opening combination in the tournament at the press conference, and his reply was quite open-ended.
“The captain-coach will take the call on the best balance for the team. Once we get to Dubai, we will have a bit more clarity. With more options available now, Shubman has been in great form for the last few months. So has Sanju, so two good options, along with Abhishek,” he said.
Gill was the second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2025, his best season to date. He’s already the ODI vice-captain and at 25 one of the youngest in the squad. Plus, he is coming off a good Test captaincy debut in England, with the drawn 2-2 series working in his favor towards an all-format leadership role.
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