Badrinath urges India to keep Abhishek and Samson as T20I openers

Former India batter S Badrinath has called on the team management to retain Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson as the opening pair for the next 10 T20Is. Badrinath said Samson should receive an extended run after scoring 57 off 22 balls in the second T20I against Afghanistan and that dropping him after two matches would be unfair. He argued that India should assess the current combination over a sustained period before considering changes. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who won Player of the Series against Zimbabwe, has remained on the bench for the first two matches of the Afghanistan series. Captain Shreyas Iyer has indicated that the team may rotate players in the dead-rubber third T20I in Delhi. Badrinath added that Sooryavanshi should be picked only if Samson fails over the longer run.