Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif has urged the team management to play the opening trio of Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi together. In the ongoing series against Afghanistan, Samson and Sharma are opening the innings together, whereas Sooryavanshi hasn’t received his chance.
With India taking an impregnable lead of 2-0 in the three-match series, Sooryavanshi can get his opportunity in the final game of the series.
While Abhishek scored a stunning knock of 82 runs off just 32 balls in the series opener, Samson scored 57 runs off just 22 balls in the second game.
On the other hand, Sooryavanshi recently scored 151 runs in three T20Is against Zimbabwe and scored 192 runs in five innings in the Duleep Trophy.
“Somewhere down the line in the future, whether it be in the next 2 months, 4 months, or 6 months, these 3 players have to play together. Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson, and Abhishek Sharma all together in the playing XI. It is my desire that these 3 players play together, because they are such exciting talent,” Mohammad Kaif said on Cricbuzz.
“It is not Sanju Samson vs. Vaibhav Suryavanshi; both are strong players. You can even try to fit them together in the next match by removing one bowler and bringing in Vaibhav Suryavanshi. You have Abhishek Sharma, who can bowl a few overs, so it can be managed. You have won the series anyway, so try playing all three of them together. For how long will you keep Vaibhav Suryavanshi out? So you have to find a formula where all three of them fit together,” he continued.
On the other hand, former Indian fast bowler Mohit Sharma said it would not be right to play Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the last game of the series.
“That question is a 100 percent valid, and it has been since the first match. From Vaibhav’s point of view, it is not right to give him just one match. If you want to play him, play him from the first match itself and give him the entire series. If you give him the last match of the series and, for some reason, he is not able to score runs, it will have a huge impact on his confidence. If he has to be on the bench for the next series as well, especially now that Sanju Samson has scored runs, the poor score from here might have an impact for a long time,” Mohit Sharma opined.
The third and final T20I between Afghanistan and India will be played in Delhi on Thursday.
