Sanju Samson likely to be preferred over Sooryavanshi in the first T20I
Lucknow: The choice between Sanju Samson and teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will be one of India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s key calls as a confident India take on a gutsy West Indies in the opening T20I here on Tuesday.
With Gambhir taking over from VVS Laxman, India could opt for Samson to open alongside Abhishek Sharma, with the experienced batter having scored two half-centuries in the last home T20I series against Afghanistan.
Laxman had fielded all three batters during the Asian Games, with Samson coming in at No 3, but the flat Ekana track and the availability of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy could prompt Gambhir to restore Samson to the top.
With Ishan Kishan, skipper Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Reddy and Axar Patel also in contention, it appears unlikely that Samson and Sooryavanshi will both make the playing XI.
The pace attack will be led by Arshdeep Singh, with Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav providing relatively inexperienced support. Axar and Kuldeep Yadav are likely to handle the spin duties, though Naman Dhir could strengthen the batting at the expense of a pacer.
West Indies, meanwhile, boast a formidable T20 unit led by Shai Hope. Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford and Romario Shepherd give them plenty of firepower, while Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie and Shamar Joseph lead the bowling attack.
India have won nine of their last 10 T20Is against West Indies at home but will face a side capable of upsetting any opponent on its day.
MATCH STARTS@7 PM
