Heat Turned Up On Gautam Gambhir, Criticised For Sanju Samson's Batting Role: 'He Has No Other Option But To Remain Tightlipped'

Despite India's strong start, the 1st T20I was washed away in Canberra on Wednesday. Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill had just started to punish the Australian bowlers when rain had stopped play. India were at 97/1 in 9.4 overs.

Gautam Gambhir's Handling Of Sanju Samson Attracts Criticism

Sanju Samson came into focus once again. The Rajasthan Royals batter has had to face some tumultuous times in the T20I setup despite being one of the designated openers alongside Abhishek Sharma. But since Shubman Gill's return to the T20I side, Sanju had to sacrifice his opening slot and has been demoted in the batting order. During India's Asia Cup triumph, Sanju has batted at No.5, No.3 and No.8 a few weeks ago.

Former selector Kris Srikkanth took a dig at Gautam Gambhir, insisting Sanju can do nothing but remain tight-lipped.

He said on his YouTube channel, “The guy who's most unlucky is Sanju Samson. He was scoring centuries as an opener. But now they send him everywhere — from No. 3 to No. 8. If given an opportunity, they may send him at No. 11 also! A person like Sanju will naturally feel bad after doing so well at the top, but he has no option but to be tight-lipped and bat wherever the team asks him to."

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India Will Seek To Continue Momentum In Melbourne

After losing the ODI series 2-1, the focus will be on the T20I series. Keeping an eye on the T20 World Cup defence, India would want to take some positives from this series. Suryakumar Yadav and Co. have been in phenomenal form and will pose a challenge to Australia's T20I credentials.

The 2nd T20I match will be played in Melbourne on Friday, and a full-fledged match could be expected. Abhishek Sharma got out cheaply, but he will be adamant to hit a big score in Melbourne.

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