Virat Kohli Reveals If Sanju Samson Will Be Part Of Playing XI In 1st T20I

Indian skipper Virat Kohli hinted at an unchanged squad for the first T20I against West Indies to be played in Hyderabad tomorrow, meaning that Sanju Samson might not get a chance. While responding to a question on Samson, Kohli said that he can’t reveal the playing XI but did mention that team India has a packed batting order.

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“I can’t tell which player will play in which capacity but we don’t think there is a problem in the batting order because I am back. It’s my responsibility to control the middle-order. You will see that other batsmen will express themselves,” he said.

Samson wasn’t a part of the T20I series earlier and was recalled as a replacement for an injured Shikhar Dhawan. With the senior player being ruled out, KL Rahul, who batted at number three against Bangladesh, will open the innings with Rohit Sharma.

The other spots are acquired by regulars and there seems to be no place for Samson for now. Even if India drop a player from the middle-order, Manish Pandey has an upper hand over Samson.

Either of these two will only get a chance if India win first two T20Is. If the hosts lose a T20I earlier, then the team management might not tinker with the playing XI.

On the tour of West Indies, after World Cup, the team management rested Rohit Sharma for the final T20I as India had pouched the series by winning the first two T20Is.

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Ravindra Jadeja looks set to be back in the playing XI and will do the spin duties along with Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal. Kuldeep Yadav, who returned to the T20I squad after five months, might miss out on a spot.

Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will share the new ball while Mohammed Shami might sit out. Shreyas Iyer will keep his number four spot and will be followed by Rishabh Pant, who might be dropped if he fails to perform in the coming six matches.