Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli disrespected by Aakash Chopra as Abhishek Sharma-Sanju Samson duo declared superior

Former India opener Aakash Chopra declared that the opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma is more dangerous than the pair of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

During a rapid-fire round, Chora had to say true or false, and he said true in the statement that "The Abishek-Sanju opening duo is more dangerous than the Rohit and Kohli pair was in 2024."

Chopra named the Sanju and Abhishek pair better than Rohit and Virat

Chopra, wasting no time, said that the current opening pair for Team India in the T20I format is better than the other combination in 2024. The former cricketer had an explanation for his choice, but that might be enough to spark another debate.

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Team India is currently on a winning streak, ahead of the ICC T20I World Cup. Abhishek Sharma has been in phenomenal form for the Men in Blue as he struck another half-century for a winning cause. In Guwahati, during the India vs. New Zealand 3rd T20I, Sharma smashed a 14-ball half-century, which is now the second-fastest fifty by any Indian cricketer in this format of international cricket.

Abhishek Sharma was the hero of the match

Abhishek Sharma was named the best player of the match for playing the match-winning knock of 68 runs off 20 deliveries only. The southpaw smashed five over boundaries and seven boundaries to decorate his knock in his exclusive style.

New Zealand went to bat first and registered 153/9 in 20 overs after losing their three top-order batters quickly. Harshit Rana, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah spent no time damaging the opponents' batting lineup. Riding high on Sharma's innings, India claimed the target total in only 10 overs, winning the match by 8 wickets.

While Sharma has been oozing with high confidence, Sanju Samson has been going through a bad patch. In the last three matches for India, the keeper-batter scored a total of 16, including a golden duck he received last night in Guwahati. There is no doubt the class Samson contains, but the off-form ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 might have caused a headache for the Indian team management.

Why did Aakash Chopra put Samson and Sharma ahead?

In this scenario, when Samson was struggling, Aakash Chopra opined that the Sharma-Samson pair is better in comparison to the 2024 version of the Kohli-Sharma combination.

"Yes, true. Because Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson are both smashers. I love Ro-Ko, but the pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson is a different gravy," Chopra opined.

#AakashChopra takes on true or false with bold calls ahead of the ICC Men’s #T20WorldCup, will Team India defeat history on cricket’s biggest stage? 🔥

Comment down your thoughts! ⬇️💭

ICC Men's #T20WorldCup 2026 👉 Starts FEB 7 pic.twitter.com/oVCvatl2yR

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) January 26, 2026

With the win in the 3rd match, India has claimed the ongoing 5-match T20I series, making the remaining two matches almost a dead rubber. In the remaining two matches, it is expected to see a different playing combination under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav. So far, the off form of Sanju is the only low point for the team. Otherwise, the dominating batting by Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Yadav is making the batting lineup more solid for the upcoming ICC event.

Read More: Ajinkya Rahane demands social media ban on Gautam Gambhir ahead of T20 World Cup 2026