"There was a ruckus that Sanju was confirmed" - Aakash Chopra on who should be Abhishek Sharma's opening partner after IND vs ENG 2025 T20Is

Former India player Aakash Chopra has noted that Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson's fortunes seem to have been reversed after the recently concluded T20I series against England. He pointed out that while Abhishek has potentially become a certainty, Samson is now fighting for the second opener's spot.

India registered a 4-1 win in the five-match T20I series against England. While Abhishek smashed 279 runs, including a blazing 135 in the final T20I, at an excellent average of 55.80 in five innings, Samson managed 51 runs at a paltry average of 10.20 in his five hits in the series.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener was asked who among Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill should partner Abhishek at the top of the order in T20Is.

"It's Interesting because when the South Africa series ended and the preparations were on for the England series, there was a ruckus that Sanju was confirmed, that he had cemented his place as he had scored three hundreds, one against Bangladesh and two against South Africa," he responded (1:20).

Chopra pointed out that Abhishek's place was in question ahead of the England series.

"With him was Abhishek Sharma, who had scored a hundred against Zimbabwe but had a slight decline in form after that. He had promise and potential but the performances were not consistent, so could he have been left out and Yashasvi be brought in? I was one of those actually. It was a legit question as you wanted to use Yashasvi's red-hot form," he observed.

Abhishek Sharma smashed a 47-ball 100 in the second T20I against Zimbabwe in July 2024. However, he managed only 156 runs at an underwhelming average of 15.60 in his other 10 innings last year.

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"You will and should give a long rope to Sanju" - Aakash Chopra on Abhishek Sharma's potential opening partner

Sanju Samson scored three centuries in five T20I innings before the England series. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra opined that Sanju Samson should be persisted with as Abhishek Sharma's opening partner.

"When the series ended, the question has flipped. Now Abhishek Sharma is confirmed but the question is who along with him. I think wait and watch. You will and should give a long rope to Sanju as three hundreds are not scored easily, and he has done that. It means he has a lot of ability," he said (2:10).

While acknowledging Samson's short-ball issues, the cricketer-turned-commentator added that the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter deserves a longer run.

"He has been troubled by one thing, short ball, especially fast ones, got caught out five out of five times, and that hurts, but does it mean you should take the fly out of the milk and throw it - never. If someone has scored three hundreds in international cricket, you have to give him a little respect and a slightly longer rope," Chopra observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra noted that he won't consider any changes for now as India won't be playing T20I cricket for the next few months.

However, he acknowledged that two left-handers might be seen opening going forward, with Shubman Gill potentially slightly behind in the pecking order as his batting style might not suit India's current template.