Sanju Samson fails as opener in India's New York warm-up match

New York,UPDATED: Jun 1, 2024 20:28 IST

India were in the mood to experiment in their first and only warm-up match of T20 World Cup 2024 against Bangladesh in New York on Saturday, June 1. However, their decision to send Sanju Samson top open with Rohit Sharma did not go according to plan as the wicketkeeper-batter fell for 1 after facing six deliveries at the Nassau County Cricket Ground.

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Sanju Samson struggled to get going on a pitch that was holding a bit, contrary to the report from Russell Arnold before the toss. Samson was dismissed in the second over by left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam. Samson was given OUT LBW and the Rajasthan Royals captain tried to review the on-field call, but he learnt that there was no DRS in warm-up games.

Shoriful Islam got the ball to pitch on the middle stump line and jagged back, hitting Samson plumb in front. Replays suggested that the ball would have gone on to hit the leg-stump even though Samson looked disappointed with the on-field decision.

Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat and confirmed at the toss that India would try and experiment in a bid to settle into a fixed combination. Rohit also confirmed that Virat Kohli would not take part in the warm-up match as the former captain arrived late, reaching New York only on Friday.

Interestingly, Rishabh Pant walked into bat at No. 3 and joined captain Rohit Sharma in the middle. India giving both wicketkeeper Samson and Pant opportunities at the top suggests that they are looking to figure out which one would be their first-choice wicketkeeper for the group stage. India take on Ireland in their T20 World Cup 2024 opener against Ireland on June 5.

It remains to be seen if Yashasvi Jaiswal would get to open the batting as the designated opener did not bat in the top-order on Saturday against Bangladesh in the warm-up match.