IND vs NZ: "The Main Concern Was What Else Could The Guy Do?": Aakash Chopra On Sanju Samson's Omission From The Second ODI

Aakash Chopra recognized that some of the outrage on social media concerning Sanju Samson’s dismissal was justified. He does think that there was nothing else the team management could have done.

Samson put in a respectable 36-run knock for India against New Zealand on Friday, November 25 in Auckland. On Sunday, November 27, Deepak Hooda took over as the wicketkeeper-batter for the second game, which was ultimately abandoned due to rain.

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Aakash Chopra elaborated on how the team pick received a lot of interest on social media in a video posted to his YouTube channel.

“In the second ODI, Sanju was dropped and Deepak Hooda was played. Twitter erupted that is why Sanju was dropped. The match got abandoned because of rain but the big question was what more can the guy do.”

Aakash Chopra believes Samson should have played ahead of Rishabh Pant. He reasoned:

“You could be justified if you argued he should have played instead of Rishabh Pant. It may have been technically accurate, but is it practical? No, because Rishabh Pant is the Indian team’s vice-captain for this series.”

“Sanju Samson was not left out because of bad performance”: Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra believes the option has never been between Pant and Samson. He explained:

“Deepak Hooda took his place (Samson). Are you perplexed? The issue is with all-rounders. The issue isn’t Rishabh Pant vs Sanju Samson; it’s who will be the sixth bowler, which is why Deepak Hooda came in.”

Aakash Chopra went on to say that the balance of the team, rather than Samson’s performances, contributed to his departure, saying:

“He was not dropped because of poor performance; rather, the squad required a player with a different skill set. They used Deepak Hooda so that they might acquire some bowling.”
Chopra noted in his conclusion that Samson would have remained in the starting lineup if Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Shubman Gill, or Shikhar Dhawan had been able to bowl a few quality overs.

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