Sanju Samson could be set for a lucky break in the IND vs NAM game on Thursday. Abhishek Sharma is battling the flu and an upset stomach at the moment, forcing him to miss the training session at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday. In fact, he hasn’t even travelled to Delhi with the team. With just 48 hours left for the Group A T20 World Cup match, there is a chance that the misses out. That could be a lucky break for out-of-form Sanju Samson, who has been dropped from the Playing XI following a string of poor shows.
Abhishek Sharma scored a golden duck against the USA, playing with 103 fever as per reports. He did not take the field after returning to the pavilion. With the big IND vs PAK match coming up on Feb 15, India would want him to return to full fitness. The team management, though, kept a shroud around his availability.
“Washington joined the team yesterday and will train today. Abhishek still has a few tummy issues. We hope he will be available for the game in a few days’ time,” Ryan ten Doeschate, India’s assistant coach, said on Tuesday.
Sanju Samson in IND vs NAM clash?
At the moment, Ishan Kishan is India’s No 1 keeper-batter in the T20 World Cup. Sanju Samson had his chance. But he lost the spot following a rut. Since his sluggish 56 against Oman in the Asia Cup, Samson averaged just 16.1 in 10 innings. He had a strike rate of 133.05. Against New Zealand, he ended up averaging an abysmal 9.2 in five innings. He had scores of 10, 6, 0, 24 and 6. That prompted the head coach Gautam Gambhir to opt for Ishan Kishan.
Kishan repaid the faith in full. Since his return to the India Playing XI after a two-year exile, Kishan has smashed a half-century and a century, averaging 56.75 in four innings and has struck at 218.26. In fact, he has managed a better strike rate than Abhishek Sharma since then.
However, if Abhishek misses out on the IND vs NAM match on Thursday, India may be forced to rethink their strategy. Sanju Samson could directly swap Abhishek for the match. In Tuesday’s practice session, Samson paired up with Kishan to bat in the nets first. But that will only be a stopgap solution, as Abhishek will take his spot back against Pakistan if he recovers.
Will India look at other options?
But there are other options India have as well. For example, India could go with Washington Sundar, who has already joined the squad in Delhi. Sundar bowled in the nets on Tuesday after getting the clearance from the BCCI CoE. With the all-important IND vs PAK match and Super 8 coming up, India would want Sundar to get his rhythm back.
Washington Sundar hasn’t played a game since January 11 after fracturing his rib. However, with Sundar back, Gautam Gambhir might want to see him in action. In that case, Tilak Varma or Suryakumar Yadav could be promoted to open the batting with Ishan Kishan. And it would help India keep the bowling options open.
