E-Paper
Sign in
Gambhir warned after Cuttack T20I all but seals Jitesh vs Samson debate: Fair choice, but India must stop the chopping
Deep Dasgupta and Irfan Pathan backed India's Jitesh Sharma call but warned Gautam Gambhir against more chopping.
After backing Sanju Samson, primarily an opener in limited-overs cricket, as a middle-order option during the Asia Cup, India shifted course midway through the Australia tour in October. They opted for a specialist finisher instead, picking fellow wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma for the last three games. On Tuesday, with Jitesh preferred for the fourth straight time over Samson in the opening match of the South Africa series in Cuttack, India all but confirmed their plan for the T20 World Cup.
The confirmation no longer elicited criticism, nor were there questions about why Samson was being ignored repeatedly. Instead, former India cricketers Deep Dasgupta and Irfan Pathan agreed with the strategy, calling it a "fair" call, but also warned head coach Gautam Gambhir against any further chopping and changing.
ALSO READ: BCCI decided to replace Rohit Sharma with Shubman Gill in 2023 itself; call wasn’t made overnight: ‘Everyone felt...’
"It is the right call. If Sanju is not in top three and if the keeper is batting in the middle order you rather play a specialist, a lower order batter than a top order batter. It is not easy batting for two balls or four balls. Jitesh is a specialist in that regard," former India wicket-keeper Dasgupta told PTI.
"Nine games to go (before World Cup), I don't see too many changes ahead of the T20 World Cup," he reckoned.
Between the end of the last T20 World Cup and the start of the Asia Cup in September, Samson was backed as India’s T20I opener after Rohit Sharma’s retirement left the slot vacant. The wicketkeeper-batter justified the move, scoring three centuries in that period.
However, with the BCCI bringing Shubman Gill back into the T20I setup for the Asia Cup, part of a broader plan to hand him all-format captaincy, Samson lost his spot and was pushed into a middle-order role. With only a handful of matches left before the T20 World Cup in February next year, India made another shift, opting for a specialist finisher in Jitesh ahead of Samson. The latter has struggled to break into the XI since.
Speaking to Star Sports, Irfan said that now that India have all but locked in Jitesh as their primary T20I wicketkeeper, there should be no further changes in the games leading up to the World Cup.
“It’s a fair call because you will face difficulty going forward if you are thinking about batting Sanju Samson down the order. Sanju Samson has batted up the order, in the top three, in his entire career. It’s a very difficult job if you go down from there. He played a very good knock in the Asia Cup while batting in the middle overs,” the cricketer-turned-commentator said.
“However, if you have to choose one between the two as to who will be more competent and proceed with one plan, you are proceeding with Jitesh Sharma currently, and you will have to move forward with him only. If you keep chopping and changing, you will have difficulties going forward,” he added.
