India will begin their three-match T20I series against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, with a selection dilemma at the top of the order due to the presence of four opening options: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Samson and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Former India cricketer and renowned commentator Vivek Razdan has backed India T20I captain Shreyas Iyer to remain at number four and Sanju Samson to open the innings in the first T20I against Afghanistan, scheduled for Sunday in New Delhi.
He should remain at number 4. Because for the top 3, you already have four names. Because he is a right-hander – no, one should be included in the playing XI just.
I do not agree with that at all,” said Razdan. Razdan, who was speaking during a press meet organised by Sony Sports ahead of the opening T20I, said a player’s performance should take precedence over the left-right combination in the batting order. Iyer, who bats at number three for Punjab Kings in the IPL, is another option in the top order, but Razdan believes the India captain should not alter his position for the series opener. “I think Shreyas should not change his number at the moment. You have Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, and Ishaan Kishan, but all three are left-handers. You already have many left-handers in your team.
Talking about Samson, he said, “You have a player who, just a few months ago, made more than 300 runs with a strike rate of 200 and won us the World Cup.
So, I feel that while going into the first match, you should still play with Sanju Samson,” he said. So, he is a very good player. “As a captain, sometimes you think about that left-right combination in batting. If all the left-handers play, it will be easy for their opponent to play the game holding the same line. Now, every player has his own importance, his own speciality, his own strength. The opening T20I will also mark Iyer’s first home series as India’s captain. Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy have returned after injury layoffs and are part of the squad.
