Seven scores of 180-plus while batting first in eight innings, six of them being 200-plus, four of them being in excess of 220, including the team's highest of 297 and all of them in a winning cause - the four-month run for the Indian T20 team against Bangladesh, South Africa and England was filled with runs, fearlessness and aggressive approach. It started from the top with Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, who laid the foundation and showed the way before the likes of Tilak Varma, captain Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel followed the template.
Yes, there was a 124/6 in there, the sole game where India couldn't bat well defending a score, but 7/8 is still a very good result for the ultra-aggressive approach India took. In these games, Abhishek had a century, a couple of fifties, Sanju Samson scored three centuries, and Varma slammed a couple of them. The order was set, checking its bearings for the big tournaments to come and the selection committee brought back Shubman Gill as vice-captain.
So who opens then? When Ajit Agarkar, the chief selector, was pressed about the situation, he all but confirmed that Sanju Samson would lose his spot. "Sanju was playing because Shubman and Yashasvi were not available at that point. So was Abhishek.
"Abhishek’s performances make it hard to leave him out, plus his bowling is handy. Like I said, Shubman was the vice-captain the last time we played T20Is with a full squad, right after the last World Cup in Sri Lanka. Even then, we were thinking along those lines. Now that he is available, he has been picked," Agarkar had said.
When a 'replacement opener' has scored three centuries in the last 10 innings, he has done enough to deserve a bit longer rope despite his "issues" against high pace and high-quality bowling attack. Samson showed in South Africa that he can bounce back from a duck to hit a 40-ball ton the next day. The consistency has been an issue with both Abhishek and Samson but the modern T20 seeks and demands an impact player, who can blow an opponent in a span of six balls. Abhishek is like that, SKY is like that, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Hardik Pandya, all are of the same mould.
Hence, Gill's comeback out of nowhere feels a bit sudden and abrupt and unfortunately, Samson will have to sit out. Gill last played a T20I for India in Sri Lanka as vice-captain, hence Agarkar's argument, but does that mean Samson goes out? With Tilak proving himself at three, Samson taking his place would feel a bit forced just to accommodate Gill in the side as there were suggestions then to move the left-hander to No 5, disrupting the whole order.
While Ravi Shastri, in a recent media interaction, suggested that Samson shouldn't be moved but the practice videos and pictures elucidated rather well that Jitesh Sharma, who is the backup keeper and more comfortable in the middle-order role, is likely to start on Sunday.
“Samson is at his most dangerous at the top. That is where he can win you matches. If he fires in any of the innings, he wins you matches. He is best left alone at the top
"When you look at Samson’s record for India in T20Is at the top of the order, even someone like Shubman will be challenged. He may come in for someone else, but I think Samson should be left alone. He is dangerous. He is lethal. He is a match-winner," he added. Samson will have to wait again, despite showing that he belongs, that he deserves multiple chances.
