IND v ENG: Only 6 runs in 3 matches, pressure increased on Sanju Samson; Will he be out of second T20?

The tour of Ireland and England has been very disappointing so far for Team India’s wicketkeeper batsman Sanju Samson. He was able to score only 5 runs in the two-match T20 series in Ireland. Even after coming to England, his bat did not work and he was out after scoring just 1 run in the first T20 match. Amidst the increasing demand for Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s debut, there will be pressure on Sanju to perform well in the second T20 match against England on Saturday (July 4).

Will Sanju be out of the team?

Sanju, the hero of India’s T20 World Cup title win, could have been given a chance for at least one year but after Vaibhav’s arrival in the team, he has no room for error. He may get his last chance to prove his worth on Saturday. Abhishek Sharma has scored 49 and 59 runs in two of the last three matches, due to which all the pressure is now on Sanju. In the first match which was canceled due to rain, Sanju faced seven balls but not even once did he look like he was in the mood to play aggressively.

His weakness in terms of technique comes to the fore in seaming situations. Ireland’s unknown fast bowler Jai Mundhra, who hails from Tonk, Rajasthan, took advantage of his weakness and took his wicket. The team management does not want to make any haste with 15-year-old Vaibhav, but if he is not fielded in the next few matches, then questions are bound to be raised on this decision. Apart from Sanju, Tilak Verma will also have to play fast in the middle order. After the arrival of spinners, he is not able to score runs fast. This year he has been able to hit only 12 sixes in 12 T20s.

Will there be changes at Old Trafford?

India had fielded all three spinners in the first T20 match. Akshar Patel, Varun Chakraborty and Ravi Bishnoi all three played together. They can also field together in the second T20. This is because the pitch at Old Trafford is generally helpful to spinners. In the last T20 match played here between India and England in 2018, Kuldeep Yadav had taken 5 wickets.

Probable playing XI of both the teams for the second T20:

India –Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma/Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Verma, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakraborty.

England – Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Harry Brook (captain), Jacob Bethel, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer.