IND vs AFG: He can be India's X-factor at T20 World Cup - Suresh Raina backs THIS star player to excel
IND vs AFG: Sanju Samson can be India's X-factor at T20 World Cup - Suresh Raina
Former Indian all-rounder Suresh Raina feels Sanju Samson needs to make the most of the opportunities in the three-match T20I series versus Afghanistan, whichkicked off in India on Thursday (Jan 11) in Mohali. Raina feels Samson can be India's X-factor in the Men in Blue's 2024 T20 World Cup campaign, which will be held in June in West Indies and USA.
Speaking toSports18, Raina said, "Sanju has made a wonderful hundred against South Africa recently. He is definitely captain material as his mind is ticking all the time while on the field. We have some very good options for the wicketkeeper-batter role -- KL Rahul, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Pant whenever he comes back after getting fit."
Raina further opined, "I prefer to have Sanju in the middle-order because he has a lot of shots. He plays those pick-up shots against pacers from the length. Hopefully, he performs well in the IPL too before the selectors sit down to select the team for the T20 World Cup."
"So, it is a good chance for Sanju against Afghanistan, and he can be our X-Factor in the World Cup,'' he added.
Samson has been a big name in the Indian Premier League (IPL), representing the Rajasthan Royals (RR) since his debut barring the two seasons he played for the now defunct Delhi Daredevils (DD). He has3,888 runs in152 T20Is at a strike rateof137.19. However, he has not had much success in T20Is for India, scoringjust 374 runs in 24 matches at a paltry average of 19.68.
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In the recently concludedSouth Africa tour, Samson impressed one and all with his maiden ODI hundred in the series finale. He will now look to churn out runs inthe shortest format as well, during the Afghanistan series, and seal a T20 WC spot at the earliest.
India’s T20I squad for the Afghanistan series –
Rohit Sharma (captain), S Gill, Y Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, W Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar