Sanju Samson-Vaibhav Sooryavanshi open? Former India cricketer suggests new opening combination

Sanju Samson and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Image: Sanju Samson is back in India’s T20I squad for the upcoming series against Afghanistan, giving the batsman another chance to reclaim his place at the top of the order.Samson was left out of the squad for the Zimbabwe tour after being dropped from the playing eleven after three failures. His omission came despite being named the player of the tournament during India’s T20 World Cup earlier this year.Since the World Cup triumph in India, the team management has continued to experiment with batting combinations, especially in the opening slot. Teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has quickly established himself in the senior ranks after a remarkable IPL season and has already been given the opportunity to open alongside Abhishek Sharma.With Samson now returning, former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta believes the Afghanistan series could be an opportunity to test another combination, with Samson and Sooryavanshi yet to open for India.

“We haven’t seen a Sanju-Vaibhav combination yet”

Dasgupta pointed out that India have already tried Samson alongside Abhishek Sharma and Sooryavanshi alongside Abhishek but have yet to see what Samson and the teenage batter can produce together at the top.“Instantly, if you think back to the last match (England T20Is), it was Sanju and Abhishek. Leave Zimbabwe aside. When all three were available, Sanju and Abhishek were there. I think we haven’t seen a Sanju-Vaibhav combination yet. We have seen Abhishek-Vaibhav and Abhishek so far, what’s a bad idea, right? The kind of combination that Sanju and Vaibhav can make,” Dasgupta said on his YouTube channel.

Sooryavanshi strengthens the case to open the place

Sooryavanshi has given the selectors another reason to consider him a regular option at the top after an impressive series against Zimbabwe.The 15-year-old finished as the leading run scorer with 151 runs in three innings at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 196.10. His performances included a match-winning 81 and two half-centuries, earning him the Player of the Series award.His contribution also played a role in India securing their first series win under newly appointed T20I captain Shreyas Iyer. India had previously suffered series defeats against Ireland and England.

Dasgupta does not want Abhishek to be dropped

While advocating a possible Samson-Sooryavanshi combination, Dasgupta emphasized that he is not calling for any of the three players to be left out.Instead, he wants India to use the matches leading up to the T20 World Cup to assess different combinations and ensure the players get enough opportunities before making a final decision.“Again, I’m not saying, please don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about throwing anyone out here. I’m just saying and I’m saying again that the idea is that before the World Cup you want to give every combination and every individual the right chance and the right game time to understand what works,” he added.With Samson back and Sooryavanshi making a convincing statement, India’s opening combination is likely to remain one of the key talking points during the Afghanistan series.