Sanju Samson in… Tilak Verma out, chance for Suryansh Shedge in place of Washington Sundar? India’s probable playing eleven for the fifth T20

New Delhi. The last few days have been no less than a nightmare for the Indian cricket team on the England tour. Team India is currently trailing 0-3 in the five-match T-20 series. The first match played in Durham was washed out due to rain, but after that the host England adopted such an attitude that the Indian team was completely on the back foot. Now the fifth and last T20 match of the series is to be played at ‘The Rose Bowl’ ground in Southampton on Saturday. This match is no less than a litmus test for Team India, where the team led by captain Shreyas Iyer has a big challenge to save itself from an embarrassing clean sweep of 0-4.

During this entire series, many weaknesses of the Indian team have come to light. The failure of the middle order, lack of big partnerships between the openers and poor form of senior players have given sleepless nights to the team management. Although this match is only a ‘dead rubber’ (a formal match) in terms of the series, this match is very important for cementing your place in the team for the upcoming tours and regaining the lost glory. In such a situation, it is believed that the Indian team management can make some drastic and strategic changes in its playing eleven for the last match.

Tilak Verma fell down, Sanju Samson’s return decided
This series has been very disappointing for Indian team vice-captain Tilak Verma. This left-handed batsman has been seen struggling to score runs continuously, due to which there was constant criticism regarding his place in the team. Due to continuously scoring low scores, it is now considered almost certain that in the last match, he may be shown the way out of the playing eleven under the rotation policy.

On the other hand, explosive wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson may finally be brought back into the playing eleven. Cricket pundits have been advocating the inclusion of Samson for a long time so that the Indian middle order can get strength and aggression. Samson will either be included directly in place of Tilak Verma, or he will be promoted to the top order to give depth to the batting.

Washington Sundar’s card is certain to be cut, Suryansh Shedge may get a chance
In the last match played in Bristol, the performance of all-rounder Washington Sundar was very ordinary. He could neither do anything special with the bat nor with the ball. Sundar gave away 19 runs in his only over and returned to the pavilion after scoring only 5 runs while batting. The management can now sit him out to find the right balance in the team. In his place, Punjab Kings’ rising all-rounder Suryansh may get a chance to make his international debut, who can bring sharpness in both batting and bowling departments.

Trust maintained on history maker Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Even though Team India has lost the series, India has definitely got a future star from this tour. Vaibhav Suryavanshi had created history as soon as he entered the field in the second T20 match played at Old Trafford. Vaibhav, who debuted at the age of just 15 years and 99 days, became India’s youngest international cricketer. Although, he has been able to score only 42 runs in his first three matches, but his fearless batting has impressed everyone. In his debut match, his six hit over the head by England’s deadly fast bowler Joffra Archer is still in discussion. This is the reason why the team management is in a mood to give another long chance to this young batsman. He will also be seen opening the innings with Abhishek Sharma in the fifth match.

India’s probable playing eleven for the fifth T20: Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dubey, Akshar Patel, Suryansh Shedge, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh.