Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that he wouldn’t drop Sanju Samson or Ishan Kishan to accommodate Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the playing XI for the second T20I against Ireland. The analyst noted that he would stick to the top three that played the first T20I and expect them to score runs.
India suffered a 34-run loss in the first T20I against Ireland in Belfast on Friday, June 26. The final game of the two-match series will be played at the same venue on Sunday, June 28.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ the former India batter reckoned that Samson and Kishan should be persisted with even though there is a clamour to play Suryavanshi.
“The big question will be whether Vaibhav should be played in the next match. It’s a tough one. Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson didn’t score runs. No one except Abhishek Sharma scored runs. There is a clamour,” Chopra said.
“It might be politically incorrect, but I would still not play him. I will still not drop Sanju Samson or Ishan Kishan. I will field the same top three and expect a different outcome, and it’s par for the course. We might score 250 if we get to bat first next time. We will bat like that because we are capable of doing that,” he added.
Sanju Samson scored five runs off four balls in the first T20I against Ireland. Ishan Kishan managed a solitary run off five deliveries, with Abhishek Sharma (49 off 20) being the only Indian player to play a substantial knock.
“I am slightly bothered about Sanju” – Aakash Chopra on Sanju Samson’s place in India’s playing XI
In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that he is slightly more concerned about Sanju Samson’s place in India’s playing XI.
“I am slightly bothered about Sanju. Either Sanju or Ishan would have to go out if a place needs to be made for him (Suryavanshi), and the fingers start getting raised more when you lose. Then the one who is sitting out is good, but as the team starts losing, he starts becoming better, as all of us expect that he will win the match, although there is no guarantee,” he said.
While acknowledging that both Samson and Ishan Kishan were dismissed cheaply in the series opener, the cricketer-turned-commentator reckoned that the latter is likely to get more opportunities.
“In such a scenario, Sanju getting out was not a good thing. Ishan Kishan also got out, but he is coming after scoring a hundred in an ODI just now. I feel Ishan Kishan will get a slightly longer rope. Sanju’s luck hasn’t been good in any case,” Chopra observed.
While opining that the pressure is mounting on Samson, Chopra expressed hope that the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter is among the runs in the second T20I.
“So the pressure is building on Sanju. You are driving a car, and in the rearview mirror, you are seeing someone coming close to you very fast. Sanju is feeling that pressure. I hope he scores the runs in the next game,” he stated.
Sanju Samson has aggregated 1,404 runs at an average of 28.08 in 55 T20I innings. Although the 31-year-old was dismissed cheaply in Friday’s match, he played match-winning knocks in the last three games of India’s victorious T20 World Cup 2026 campaign.
Edited by Kartik Iyer
