IND vs AFG 3rd T20I: Aakash Chopra prefers Jitesh ahead of Samson for the final match

Jitesh Sharma, Sanju Samson (Pic: File Pic)

Ahead of the third T20I between India and Afghanistan, former Indian batsman Aakash Chopra feels that the hosts should continue with Jitesh Sharma instead of Sanju Samson.

Jitesh is known for his firey cameos and power to strike the ball hard in the stands. He was selected in place of Sanju Samson for the T20I series against Afghanistan.

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Samson recently scored a century against South Africa in the ODIs, last month.

Chopra feels that Jitesh deserves the chance to play the third game and said on his YouTube channel, "The question is whether you should keep Jitesh or Sanju at No. 6. If Jitesh had cemented his place totally, if there hadn't been a question mark at all in front of Jitesh's name, that he is definitely going to the World Cup, you could have thought about Sanju. However, Jitesh is not confirmed yet."

"There is a flip side to that as well. Assuming you play Sanju, will you judge him with one match? It's incorrect. Whoever you try, give him three chances at least. This is what has happened with Sanju throughout his career," Chopra added.

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In the first match, Jitesh accumulated 31 runs in 20 balls. In the second match, the wicketkeeper-batsman failed to score runs.

Shivam Dube has also emerged as the stand-out player for the "Men in Blue" in the absence of star all-rounder Hardik Pandya who is recovering from an injury. On the other hand, Rinku Singh who has delivered performances in almost every game also has the ability to bat in the middle order. Chopra feels that Tilak should not replace any batter.

"Shivam Dube has been the find of the series so far, so he will play at No. 4 for sure. So can Tilak Varma be played here? In place of whom, because Rinku Singh gets limited opportunities, in terms of, not the games, but the amount he gets to bat. So he also needs to play," Chopra said.

With the series in the bag, Team India is leading the three-match T20I series with a 2-0 over Afghanistan. Both teams will face each other at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

This will be India's last T20I match before the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 which will kick-start in June.

(With ANI Inputs)