"I am trying to understand why you repeatedly send him at No. 5" - Aakash Chopra on Sanju Samson's failure in 5th India vs West Indies T20I

Aakash Chopra has questioned India for playing Sanju Samson at No. 5 when he was supposedly initially earmarked for the No. 6 batter's role.

Samson scored 13 runs off nine deliveries as India set the West Indies a 166-run target in the fifth T20I in Lauderhill, Florida, on Sunday, August 13. The Windies achieved the target with eight wickets and two overs to spare to clinch the five-match series 3-2.

While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra questioned the call to send Samson ahead of Hardik Pandya. He said:

"Tilak Varma got out and India shuffled their batting once again. You asked Sanju Samson to bat at No. 5 this time and Hardik Pandya himself came at No. 6. He (Samson) played one or two good shots and then he got out."

The former Indian opener added:

"I am trying to understand why you repeatedly send him at No. 5 when you are auditioning him for No. 6. Has he missed a lot of chances? What about Sanju Samson? It's a big, big, big question."

Chopra also criticized Samson for failing to make the most of his talent. He explained:

"When Sanju Samson plays his shots, he looks like an extremely good player and you feel he should be played all matches and given a lot of chances, but when you play him at No. 5 or No. 6 and he doesn't score runs, it becomes a point of discussion that he is missing opportunities."

Samson gave a tame catch to Nicholas Pooran behind the wickets off Romario Shepherd's bowling. The Kerala wicketkeeper-batter managed a paltry 32 runs at a lowly average of 10.67 in his three hits in the T20I series.

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"Hardik Pandya just could not find form" - Aakash Chopra

Hardik Pandya scored 14 runs off 18 deliveries.

Aakash Chopra pointed out that Hardik Pandya played a painstaking knock after replacing Sanju Samson at the crease. He observed:

"Hardik Pandya just could not find form. He had scored eight runs off 16 balls at one stage. You are batting at No. 6, slightly towards the backend, but the bat was not striking the ball at all. He hit a six and then got out."

Hardik wasn't at his explosive best in the T20I series against the Windies. He aggregated 77 runs in his four knocks at an underwhelming strike rate of 110.00 and a slightly below-par average of 25.67.