“He has 12-15 years’ experience in the IPL” - When Wasim Akram weighed in on the Sanju Samson vs Rishabh Pant debate in T20Is

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram made his pick between Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant. There has been a debate as to who is the better choice of the two in T20Is.

Wasim Akram shared his thoughts on Sportskeeda's 'Mann ki Baat'. He first spoke about how Rishabh Pant came back following his accident.

"Look at Pant's performance which is a miracle that the guy has done. He has shown that he is a superhuman. The tragedy from which he has come back. The way I saw his clips from his accident, we were all worried in Pakistan. I was worried. I had also put a tweet about him and he came back," the former Pakistan bowler said. (0:01)

Akram then spoke about Sanju Samson, adding that he had seen him from the time he was first a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The former Pakistan captain served as a KKR coach in the past.

"Sanju Samson is a very old player. I have seen him from 2010. He was a young kid when he came to KRR and we had spoken about him as well. He's got the experience. He's got to be consistent. Technique is there. Shot selection in T20, according to the situation, he has 12-15 years experience in the IPL. So he should know which shot he has to play where," Wasim noted. (0:20)

Touching on the debate between Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant, Wasim Akram mentioned that it depends on the captain and the management as to who they want to play and in what position.

"If you want to play a wicket-keeper, where do you want to play him? Do you want to play him as a finisher? Or in the top three or as an opener? This depends on the team's captain and the team management about what the plan is," he said. (0:51)

However, he added that he would start off with Rishabh Pant as his personal choice.

"If I will start off with, okay Sanju Samson has done well as a player as a skipper but I need a finisher and that is Pant. This is my choice and I am giving my opinion. I will go with Pant to start off with," he opined. (1:05)

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Sanju Samson has failed to score big in the ongoing T20I series against England

Sanju Samson, who is the first-choice wicket-keeper and opener for India in T20Is at the moment, has been brilliant with the bat in the recent past. However, he has been unable to carry on those performances in the five-match home T20I series against England.

With scores of 26, 5, and 3 in the three matches so far, he has a total of 34 runs at an average of 11.33 and a strike rate of 103.03. His numbers in this series have been disappointing.

As two more games are remaining in the series, Samson will have to redeem himself with some solid performances.