Gautam Gambhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Shubman Gill conspire openly to DISCARD Sanju Samson
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Sanju Samson's future in the Indian playing XI for the Asia Cup looks dim, as coach Gautam Gambhir, skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill discussed in the ICC Academy nets after Samson's forgettable day out in the middle.
Sanju Samson had an undeniably good season in the Indian T20I side, as he scored several runs and paired it with 3 hundreds, two of which came against South Africa under overseas conditions.
Despite his good form, his spot in the Indian team was challenged immediately with the arrival of Shubman Gill. Shubman Gill, who missed the T20I series against Bangladesh, South Africa, and England, has made his comeback as the vice-captain of the team for the Asia Cup.
Sanju Samson was ignored after an awful outing on Day 2 of the practice session
After the Indian players arrived in the UAE and started their preparations for the Asia Cup, day 1 of the practice session looked light and suitable for all the players at the ICC Academy in the UAE.
However, day 2 was not the same, since the players had to get through their fitness drills, which also included the Bronco Test. Sanju Samson, one of the frontline batters of the side, struggled as he limped across the ground and soon found himself on a red icebox.
After a long break, when Sanju was finally back in the middle, head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Suryakumar Yadav were seen engaged in a deep conversation and were later joined by vice-captain Shubman Gill.
Though they could have been discussing anything, but not Sanju after how the night unfolded for the Rajasthan Royals batter. This further dims Samson's chances of making it to the final XI.
Insights from Samson's frustrating day at the ICC Academy in Dubai
None of the actions at the ICC Academy in Dubai spoke more clearly than the silence surrounding Sanju Samson. Right after his warm-up sprints, he soon remained perched on the icebox for most of the evening, only watching the others play in the nets.
Shubman Gill, Jitesh Sharma, and Rinku Singh were all seen in the centre nets practicing their shots. Rinku also returned to fine form in the UPT20 League after his dominating show.
For the first couple of hours, the nets remained confined to the batters Abhishek Sharma, Gill, Suryakumar, Tilak Varma, Jitesh, and Rinku. Samson also did not go for the fielding drills and had a very narrow batting window, alongside the all-rounders, and shared his net alongside Hardik Pandya.
Gautam Gambhir backing Jitesh Sharma as frontrunner wicket-keeper for Asia Cup opener
As Sanju sat out for most of the practice session, Gautam Gambhir, on the other hand, worked closely in association with the other Indian wicket-keeper batsman, Jitesh Sharma.
The 31-year-old RCB batter played in the centre wicket nets for a long time and tried a wide array of shots while being advised by Gautam Gambhir from the sidelines of the nets.
Though practice sessions are not referred to for naming the final XI, they provide a clear insight into the strategies adopted by the teams, and for that, the verdict on Jitesh and Samson seemed to have arrived before the latter's turn did.
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India National Cricket Team Sanju Samson Gautam Gambhir Suryakumar Yadav Shubman Gill Asia Cup
