India will face the West Indies in the opening game of the five-match T20I series
The first match of the series will be played in Lucknow on October 6
The team management faces a selection dilemma at the top of the order due to Sanju Samson's recent struggles
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi In, Sanju Samson Out? India’s Predicted XI For 1st T20 Vs West Indies
India face the West Indies in the opening T20I match on October 6 in Lucknow. Sanju Samson's inconsistent run of form continues, with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi making a mark at the Asian Games. Will Vaibhav get a chance in the opening fixture, or will he have to wait as the World Cup opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson get game time?
Summary
Fresh from their Asian Games gold medal triumph, Shreyas Iyer-led India will face the West Indies in the opening T20I of the five-match series on Tuesday, October 6, in Lucknow.
India once again face the same dilemma they have faced since handing the debut cap to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: what will be the opening combination?
In Aichi-Nagoya, the Indian team opened with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma, while Sanju Samson came in at number three. Abhishek scored 68 runs in two innings, including a thrilling knock of 61 against Pakistan in the final.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 15, scored 53 runs, while Sanju Samson failed miserably, scoring just nine runs in the two outings. Vaibhav made a quick 38 in the semi-final against Sri Lanka.
After having an outstanding run of form against Afghanistan, scoring 117 runs in three matches, which included two half-centuries, Samson struggled in Japan. In a historic one-off match against Japan before the Asian Games, Sanju could manage only nine off eight balls.
Sanju's consistency has always been a concern for the management. Sanju, who was named Player of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup, was dropped from the playing XI after he failed to score in three straight matches, opening a place for Vaibhav to debut.
However, in a recent interview, India's T20 captain Shreyas Iyer stated that the team would like to continue with the World Cup-winning opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson in the near future, while Vaibhav will have to wait for his opportunities.
"...And I know that his time will come, because we have been playing with World Cup-winning openers right now, and they deserve the time out there, and he’s still in the 15. So definitely, when his time comes, he is going to dominate Indian cricket," Shreyas said in the interview.
Advertisement
It will be interesting to see which opening combination the team management and the captain decide to go with in the opening fixture against the West Indies.
India’s Predicted-XI: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (WK), Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav
Published At:
Tags