Former India star questions Gambhir over Sanju Samson’s treatment, warns Jitesh Sharma could face similar fate

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has raised serious concerns over the Indian team management’s handling of Sanju Samson, questioning head coach Gautam Gambhir’s approach after the wicketkeeper-batter was once again left out of the playing XI in the ongoing T20I series against Australia.

Samson, who batted only once in the series — promoted to No. 3 in that match — has now been replaced by Jitesh Sharma in the middle order for the third and fourth T20Is. The repeated omissions have puzzled Chopra, who fears Jitesh might also face the same uncertainty in the near future.

Since the last T20 World Cup, Samson has been India’s third-highest run-scorer in T20Is, shining as an opener alongside Abhishek Sharma and notching up three centuries last year. However, with Shubman Gill returning as vice-captain for the Asia Cup, Samson was asked to shift down the order — a position he is not accustomed to and has rarely played in his career.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra expressed his frustration over the inconsistent treatment of Samson.

“The biggest question right now is — what have we decided about Sanju Samson? Why are we doing this to him? He played decently when given the chance. Maybe not extraordinary, but solid enough. You promoted him against Oman, and he scored a fifty, yet he’s on the bench again,” Chopra said.

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The former opener added that such decisions have created confusion about the team’s vision.

“You played him in the Asia Cup final, and he scored some runs. You assured everyone he could handle a middle-order role. We respected that. But then you dropped him again after the Canberra game, despite him not even getting a fair chance there. He was sent to bat at No. 3 in Melbourne, surprisingly, and then benched again. I can’t understand this pattern,” he explained.

Chopra concluded by saying that India’s unpredictable selection calls make it unclear whether either Samson or Jitesh will be given a stable role.

“Right now, it’s hard to say whether Sanju will play again. Jitesh has done decently, scored around 20 runs, so logic says he should be persisted with — but whether that happens, I have no idea,” he said.