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India captain Suryakumar Yadav confirmed that Sanju Samson will feature alongside youngster Abhishek Sharma in the opening slot for the T20I series against Bangladesh.
Samson, who usually comes out to bat at number three spot or down in the middle order, is set to feature as an opener, a rare sight for the Indian fans to behold. The 29-year-old wicketkeeper, who made his debut in 2015, has been in and out of the Indian setup and is striving hard to establish himself as a mainstay for the Indian team. With the Indian team looking forward to experimentation under the new era of head coach Gautam Gambhir, Samson will have an opportunity to become a regular after stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had their last dance at the end of the T20 World Cup. "Sanju Samson will play and open the batting in this series, going forward with Abhishek Sharma," Suryakumar Yadav said in the pre-match press conference. The window of opportunity that has opened up for Samson comes on the back of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill being rested for the T20I series. The duo played their part in India's recent 2-0 series sweep over Bangladesh. Jaiswal ended the series as the leading run-scorer with 189 runs and Shubman closely followed on the second spot with a tally of 164 runs to his name. Meanwhile, in 2024, Samson has been paitently waiting for the opportunities to come his way. He was a part of the India squad that lifted the T20 World Cup but didn't feature in a single match since the warm-up clash against Bangladesh. He had an impressive outing for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. While leading RR, Samson garnered a whopping 531 runs in 15 matches, averaging 48.27 and striking at 153.47. Samson will be keen to find the run of consistency and push his name to become a regular face in India's white-ball setup. The first of the three T20Is will be played in Gwalior on Sunday. (ANI)
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