Former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth made a bold call on Abhishek Sharma’s potential replacement for the Namibia clash. Instead of going with Sanju Samson, he suggested giving Washington Sundar a chance at the top of the order.
Sundar is also returning to the team after recovering from injury and has been declared fit for the Namibia game, while Abhishek was discharged on Wednesday after spending a couple of days in hospital with viral fever and a stomach infection. The team management might not risk Abhishek in the Namibia clash, considering they will next face arch-rivals Pakistan in Colombo, where he will be key at the top of the order.
Srikkanth outlined his unorthodox strategy for India’s batting lineup, proposing a bold change if he were in charge. He explained why he would promote Sundar to open in place of Samson, who he feels is out of form, and how he would tweak the order for the Pakistan game to give Sundar meaningful match exposure.
“If I was the captain, I would have had a different thought process. Sanju is totally out of form. I will bring Washington Sundar in and make him open. I want him to be fit and playing the match against Pakistan. If Abhishek comes back for the Pakistan game, I will push Sundar to eight and remove Rinku Singh. My thinking is out of the box here. Samson has been given a fair run and he has not done anything. It is just to give Sundar the feel of a match,” Srikkanth said on ‘Cheeky Cheeka’.
“Abhishek Sharma getting back rhythm very important”
Srikkanth stressed the importance of Abhishek getting back into rhythm by playing against Namibia. He pointed out that momentum is crucial in cricket, and missing Abhishek would be a significant setback. At the same time, he noted that it could provide an opportunity for Samson, adding that the batter must make the most of this chance, as there would be no second opportunity.
“Abhishek Sharma playing against Namibia and getting back rhythm is very important. The momentum in cricket is very important. So him not playing will be a very big loss. Only good thing is Sanju may get an opportunity. We have to see if he can capitalise or not. He has to capitalise on this chance, there is no other choice,” he said.