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Cricket PlayersAshwin totally confused about Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Rishabh Pant's role in India's XI for New Zealand series
Ashwin, like many others, was confused about the role Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar and Rishabh Pant might play in this Indian T20I side in the three-match series against New Zealand.
Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli are resting from the New Zealand tour but India's problem of plenty doesn't end there, that's how strong the bench strength is. Take this for example, there is Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, and Rishabh Pant fighting for the openers spot. Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav are probable contenders for batting at No.3. In the bowling department, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav are jostling for the wrist spinner's place, of course assuming Washington Sundar will play as an all-rounder and a spin-bowling option in the powerplay. Considering Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh are likely to start, only one among Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, and Umran Malik can play as the third seamer.
But here's the thing. India may have plenty of options but they are generally for two or three positions. For example, there are no designated finishers in this T20I squad apart from captain Hardik Pandya. Samson has done his bit in the West Indies ODIs and the home series against South Africa and so has Pant in white-ball cricket with very little success. Hooda was tried at No. 6 and 7 a couple of times but failed miserably.
Despite the highly-talented bunch of players, there is once again a probability that India might end up short of finding answers to their T20I woes.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who too has been rested for this New Zealand tour, shared his thoughts on what should be India's ideal XI for the New Zealand T20Is. To be honest, the veteran off-spinner too appeared to be confused. Ashwin picked Shubman Gill as his sureshot opener but wasn't able to choose between Pant and Kishan as Gill's partner.
"As far as I am concerned, Shubman Gill is a lock at the top of the order. Who is going to be the second opener? Ishan Kishan or Rishabh Pant? Even Wasim Jaffer tweeted that we will see the best of Rishabh Pant if he bats at the top of the order. Ishan has been travelling a lot with the team but he is not getting extended run as a player," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
The veteran off-spinner went with Shreyas Iyer over Suryakumar Yadav as the No3. "Anyway, Shreyas Iyer at 3, and Suryakumar Yadav at 4 are a lock. There will be a temptation to send Suryakumar Yadav at 3. But I think Shreyas has earned his right. So, Shreyas will go at three and Surya will bat at 4," Ashwin said.
Ashwin, like many others, was confused about the role Sanju Samson might play in this Indian T20I side. "Will Sanju Samson finish an innings? Or will he be used in the middle order to give impetus, take on the spinners, play his pulls, and use the short square boundaries? Or will Sanju Samson get a chance?" he asked.
Another player who got Ashwin scratching his head was Washington Sundar. The all-rounder is close to being a like-for-like replacement of Ashwin but because he is a left-hander, he adds a different dimension.
"If you send Rishabh Pant at the top, we won't have any left-handers in the middle order. Not having a left-hander in the middle order is also highly spoken about. Having a left-right combination in the middle is really important in T20s. Is there a left-hand middle-order option available?
"The only other option left is Washington Sundar. I don't know whether they will bat him at number 5. If they don't see him in that role, I don't know where else he will fit in this squad. Remember, this is a comeback for Washington Sundar as well," he said.
