"What's the guarantee that Vaibhav Suryavanshi would keep doing well?" - Aakash Chopra on Sanju Samson being dropped for ZIM vs IND 2026 T20Is

× Former India player Aakash Chopra has termed the decision to drop Sanju Samson from the Men in Blue's squad for the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe wrong. He questioned whether Vaibhav Suryavanshi's consistent performances are guaranteed. Ad Samson has been ignored for the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe to be played in Harare later this month.

Ishan Kishan and Prabhsimran Singh have been picked as the two wicketkeeper-batters in the 15-member squad. In a video shared on his YouTube channel, 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India batter wondered how Samson has been dropped after just three failures, questioning whether one can be sure Suryavanshi would keep performing well. Ad Trending "Honestly, it's wrong.

When we played the first T20I, I also believed you wouldn't be able to make Vaibhav sit out since you had lost the series to Ireland, but you would have to make a rotation policy to give him a chance. You don't make the other guy disappear to make a place for someone," Chopra said. Ad "He (Samson) is the guy who won you the World Cup.

It's not somebody who is a non-performer. Three innings went bad, and you forgot everything. That worries me a little.

It saddens my heart a little because what's the guarantee that Vaibhav Suryavanshi would keep doing well?" he added. Chopra wondered whether leaving out Samson could be a long-term plan, pointing out that the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter is just 31 years old.

Ad "If he (Suryavanshi) doesn't do well, you have gone towards Prabhsimran Singh, but is that a long-term plan because Sanju is not 35 or 38 years old? Sanju is still a young man. Who gets old at 30 or 31 years?

His career has been slightly inconsistent for sure, and you need to take tough decisions at times, but you dropped Sanju from the team itself," he observed. Ad Sanju Samson was the Player of the Tournament in India's T20 World Cup 2026 triumph. However, he was benched for the second T20I against England after aggregating six runs in his previous three innings.

"Is there actually no place for Sanju Samson in that?" - Aakash Chopra on India fielding a full-strength batting lineup in ZIM vs IND 2026 T20Is In the same video, Aakash Chopra pointed out that India have picked a full-strength batting lineup for the T20I series against Zimbabwe and wondered whether Sanju Samson doesn't merit a place in that. Ad "We are going with full-strength batting.

It's not like we are resting any of the batters. The batting list is exactly what it should be. This is the batting that came after winning the World Cup, barring Vaibhav, of course.

If you are taking your full batting, is there actually no place for Sanju Samson in that?" he said. Ad While expressing shock over Samson's omission, the cricketer-turned-commentator opined that Abhishek Sharma could have been rested instead.

"I am shocked. How would you communicate this decision that it took us three matches to figure out that you are not good enough? I felt there was no need to move away from Sanju.

You could have had a rotation policy. If you had asked me, I would have said rest Abhishek," Chopra observed.Aakash Chopra highlighted that Abhishek Sharma has nothing to prove or gain and had remained the top-ranked T20I batter for a long time.

He added that leaving out Sanju Samson doesn't sit right with him and that he is a little disappointed. × Was this article helpful? Thank You for feedback Follow IPL Auction 2025 Live Updates, News & Biddings at Sportskeeda.

Get the fastest updates on Mega-Auction and cricket news Quick Links More from Sportskeeda Edited by Kartik Iyer Former India player Aakash Chopra has termed the decision to drop Sanju Samson from the Men in Blue's squad for the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe wrong. He questioned whether Vaibhav Suryavanshi's consistent performances are guaranteed. Ad Samson has been ignored for the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe to be played in Harare later this month.

Ishan Kishan and Prabhsimran Singh have been picked as the two wicketkeeper-batters in the 15-member squad. In a video shared on his YouTube channel, 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India batter wondered how Samson has been dropped after just three failures, questioning whether one can be sure Suryavanshi would keep performing well. Ad Trending "Honestly, it's wrong.

When we played the first T20I, I also believed you wouldn't be able to make Vaibhav sit out since you had lost the series to Ireland, but you would have to make a rotation policy to give him a chance. You don't make the other guy disappear to make a place for someone," Chopra said. Ad "He (Samson) is the guy who won you the World Cup.

It's not somebody who is a non-performer. Three innings went bad, and you forgot everything. That worries me a little.

It saddens my heart a little because what's the guarantee that Vaibhav Suryavanshi would keep doing well?" he added. Chopra wondered whether leaving out Samson could be a long-term plan, pointing out that the Kerala w