First Gill, then Samson: Is India’s second opening slot in T20s jinxed?

It seems India’s second opening batter slot is jinxed. Not jinxed really, maybe just that the batter walking out with Abhishek Sharma really doesn’t know how to go about it once the carnage begins at the other end from the first ball bowled.

India’s Test and ODI skipper Shubman Gill found out the hard way that no matter what you do, when Abhishek is on song – which is more often than not – your batting will be up for scrutiny. The elegant right-hander, who recently lost his spot in India’s T20 side for the upcoming World Cup, tried being the aggressor and even tried to complement the explosive left-hander by rotating the strike, but when the yardstick is a 200+ strike rate every time, you are bound to come up short.

So, the Indian selectors decided to go back to Sanju Samson, a wicket-keeper batter on the fast lane, or so it seemed. There was an uproar when Gill was preferred over him for a long period, but with the T20 World Cup on the horizon, the selectors decided to act.

Samson, though, has failed to act in the same way, unable to even score in double digits in the ongoing New Zealand series, making only 16 runs in three matches at an average of 5, and being dismissed for a golden duck in the third T20I on Sunday.

One can sympathise with Samson, given how Gill found it near-impossible to match Abhishek, or even play second-fiddle at a decent scoring rate. Samson has been trying the slam-bang tactic for good measure, but it has failed to come off in the three matches so far and with wicketkeeper/batter Ishan Kishan on a roll, smashing 112 runs in his three matches and with Tilak Verma ready to come back into the side following his injury lay-off, the selectors are now faced with another headache, nothwithstanding the fact that India have been virtually unbeatable in this format of late.

Following India’s series win on Sunday, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra said, "You will have to ask a question. We dropped Gill because there was a new philosophy or ideology, and went towards Sanju Samson, but it seems like you won't be able to stay with him for long. If you see their numbers lately, they seem identical.

“Ishan Kishan wasn't part of your original planning. However, if Tilak becomes available for the next game, it will be a call that India must take, whether they should go with Sanju or Ishan Kishan."

Samson’s place would seem safe for now given the selectors decided against fasttracking Verma into the side and risking it before the World Cup. But he really has to step up and deliver in the last two T20Is to shut out the noise.